Prisons
by bassetfan
Summary: What happens when a woman tries to come between Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry?
1. Chapter 1

_I originally posted this a little while ago, but received some criticisms that made me realize that it still needed a little work. Thanks to some great suggestions from Penski, I was able to tweak the story a little and I think (I hope!) it's better for it._

 _Many thanks to all who offered reviews, support and suggestions, and particularly to HannaHeyes and Akeays for their good advice!_

 _And last, but certainly not least, many, many thanks to Penski, who pointed out my plot holes, cleaned up my commas and radically reduced my run on sentences!_

* * *

All seemed right with the world on the day that Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry crossed the state line from Wyoming and arrived in the small Colorado town of Silvervale. The sun was shining and they had money in their pockets.

They were ready for a little relaxation; the past couple of months had been hard.

Their last job had been to transport four horses to a ranch owner, and had involved long days of riding and nights camping on the trail. It paid good money but they had been forced to leave the ranch quickly, only minutes ahead of a very determined posse. The posse kept them running for days; they ended up camping out in the mountains for almost three weeks before they decided it was safe to leave. They were tired, hungry, and starting to get on each other's nerves after so many hours spent exclusively in each other's company.

Thank heaven they'd been paid well enough to spend some time in the saloon, clean up and sleep in a real bed.

They rode through the dusty streets, noticing a small but shabby sheriff's office with an unfamiliar sheriff sunning himself on a chair outside. They tipped their hats to him as they passed and he returned the gesture, no hint of recognition or interest on his face.

"Wanna rest here a while?"

Curry looked around him speculatively. "Be nice to relax for a couple of days. Looks like a quiet place. Wouldn't mind gettin' a bite to eat."

"Oh, you wouldn't mind, huh? There's a place over there, let's go get some lunch."

They ambled over to the small restaurant, drawn by the enticing scents of freshly baked bread and roasting meat. They ordered a large lunch from the pretty waitress and wandered back into the street, their bellies full and their moods considerably improved.

Heyes smiled contentedly at his partner. "Saloon?"

"Don't mind if I do."

They leaned against the bar.

"Whiskey."

The bartender poured them each a shot.

"You gentlemen visiting?"

"Just passing through. Seems like a nice quiet little town."

"It is at that. Not much excitement here, if that's what you're looking for."

Curry made a face. "No, not lookin' for any excitement. A nice quiet town is just what the doctor ordered." Seeing the bartender's expression, he added, "So to speak."

Heyes gestured for another two glasses. "Got any rooms available?"

"Yeah, we got one. Good rates and it's a clean, comfortable room - if you gents don't mind sharing?"

"We're shared before and lived to tell the tale! We'll take it."

In truth, they preferred to share whenever possible. It meant they could watch each other's backs and make a quick getaway if they needed to.

"Any work around here?"

"Young Mrs. Adams down at the Silver Dollar Ranch is looking for a couple of good workers."

"Where could we find her?"

"Her place is about five miles north, just past the river bend."

Heyes tipped his hat and grinned. "Mighty obliged to you, sir. Now I think I'll just wander over there and see if they need another player at that poker table. Wouldn't mind playing a hand or two."

Curry smiled at the reference to his earlier comment. "Wouldn't mind, would ya?"

"Not at all, Mr. Jones. Not at all!"

They enjoyed one of the most relaxing evenings they'd had in a while. Heyes won a nice amount, being careful to not draw any attention by winning too much. Afterwards, they spent a little money on a bath and a haircut that they both badly needed, and then they settled in for an early night.

* * *

The next morning they were well rested and well fed after a good breakfast at the same pleasant little restaurant they went to the day before. Their moods were good as they rode over to the Silver Dollar Ranch.

It was surprisingly picturesque, with a view of the mountains rising in the distance and a flower garden outside the window. As they dismounted, a petite and pretty blonde woman completed the picture as she came out, wiping her hands on her apron.

Heyes tipped his hat. "Good morning, ma'am. The bartender at the saloon in town told us you were looking for a couple of good workers and we're looking for work right now. We've worked on a few ranches in our time and can do pretty much anything you might need."

She watched Curry dismount and smiled in return. "I am looking for some help. What brings you to town?"

Curry answered her. "Just passin' through, ma'am, tryin' to find honest work."

"Well, then I think we can help each other, Mr...?"

"Jones, ma'am. Thaddeus Jones, and this is my partner, Joshua Smith."

She acknowledged both of them, but it was clear that there was a little more warmth in the smile she gave to Mr. Jones.

"I'm sure you gentlemen must be hungry after your ride, come on in. I've just taken some bread out of the oven."

"Thank you, ma'am, but we just had breakfast," Heyes began, but Curry interrupted.

"That sounds wonderful. Managed to work up quite an appetite on the way here."

"I like to see a man with a good appetite."

They smiled at each other, feeling an instant attraction, and neither heard Heyes mutter, "A match made in heaven!"

* * *

Mrs. Adams fed them with as much food as they could wish for and told them a little of what she needed.

She was a widow and trying to manage the place on her own. She had ranch hands for the day to day things, but found she needed some additional work done and didn't want to pull anyone from their regular tasks.

She spoke almost exclusively to the Kid, gazing into his eyes as she did so. Their attraction to each other was obvious. Heyes was starting to feel extremely uncomfortable as the third wheel.

"Well, perhaps you'd like to tell us where you want us to start?"

She looked startled for a moment; she seemed to have forgotten that he was in the room.

"Oh! Oh, yes. Let me see..." She thought for a moment. "Mr. Smith, there are some repairs that need to be done in the barn. The roof needs patching and the floor of the loft needs work. You'll have to clear it out first, though. My foreman's out there now, he can show you around. Just introduce yourself. His name's Bill."

He nodded and stood up, waiting for his cousin.

"Oh, I have some repairs that need to be done in the house. Mr. Jones, could you stay here and work on them, while Mr. Smith starts on the barn?"

Curry nodded enthusiastically. Heyes smiled at the two of them and left. In truth, he and the Kid would appreciate spending a little time apart.

* * *

Mrs. Adams and Mr. Jones quickly became Mary and Thaddeus, as he oiled hinges that didn't squeak and tightened doorknobs that didn't seem to be very loose in the first place. When Heyes returned that evening, dusty and tired, he found a happy and relaxed pair sitting on the porch drinking lemonade.

"Mrs. Adams, Thaddeus."

Curry waited for her to tell Heyes to call her Mary and offer him some lemonade, but oddly, she didn't. Perhaps she just felt closer to him since he had been working next to her all day.

He also had to admit that it felt good to have the easy job for a change. Seemed like he was always the one that ended up on the long or dangerous job while Heyes got to relax. If Kid Curry lived to be a hundred, he was never going to forget hauling all those explosives to the mine, while Heyes was able to sit back and romance a beautiful lady, even if he did have to solve a murder at the same time.

Well, turnabout was fair play, he thought, smiling, as he sipped his lemonade and settled back in his seat. Heyes guessed his thoughts and grinned back at him, rolling his eyes.

"Hello, Mr. Smith, I hope you had a productive day. I should tell you both where you'll be bedding down. Mr. Smith, I believe they have a bed available in the bunkhouse, where I think you'll be very comfortable. Thaddeus," here she smiled sweetly at his cousin, "tells me that you enjoy a game of poker and I understand they frequently play cards there of an evening."

He nodded, a polite smile on his face.

"Thaddeus, I have a favor to ask of you. For the past few nights, I've been hearing noises outside my room at night. I'm so scared that it might be a bear." Curry thought he saw real fear in her soft blue eyes. "I wonder if you'd mind sleeping in the guest room for my protection? I know that I can trust you to be a gentleman."

Heyes raised an eyebrow and smiled to himself. So, she wasn't that much of a lady after all!

Curry saw nothing amiss and Heyes was happy for him to enjoy a little romance. He didn't mind bunking with the other workers and she was right, he would enjoy a hand or two of poker.

She looked back towards Heyes. "The men are probably getting ready to eat right now, you should head over and get something."

Seeing him turn to his cousin, she added, "Thaddeus and I already ate. I like to eat early and since he was here, he was kind enough to keep me company. You should take your things over to the bunkhouse and get settled in. After breakfast tomorrow, you can carry on fixing the barn."

Heyes knew that he'd been dismissed. Well, he wasn't going to get in the way of the Kid enjoying an evening with a lovely woman.

"Goodnight, ma'am. Thaddeus."

"Night, Joshua."

He looked back as he walked away and saw Mrs. Adams move a little closer to his partner. Nope, he thought, not that much of a lady after all.

* * *

It didn't take long for Heyes to realize that there were already a few snickers about Mrs. Adams' sudden infatuation with his friend.

As they sat around the table examining their cards, one of the hands, a man by the name of Curly, said, "Better him than me!"

Heyes was surprised and looked at him quizzically. She was young, rich and attractive, not a woman many men would turn down.

Seeing his puzzlement, the foreman, Bill, explained, "She's a very… determined woman when she sets her sights on something. Knows her own mind and doesn't let anything stand in her way."

Heyes still couldn't see the difficulty, neither he or the Kid had a problem with strong women. He also had a hard time reconciling that description with the petite, vulnerable young woman they had spoken to. Perhaps she had been a little open about her attraction to the Kid, but determined? He couldn't imagine it.

"You'll see," said another man - Micky, was it? - "you'll see."

Over the next few weeks, he began to.

* * *

Mrs. Adams (she was still Mrs. Adams to him, although she was Mary to the Kid, and he was now, sickeningly in Heyes' opinion, 'Thaddy') seemed to be doing everything she could to keep the two men apart.

Heyes had barely spoken to Kid since they'd arrived and while he had excused it at first - she was attractive woman and obviously infatuated with his friend - he was starting to get irritated by the Kid's behavior.

They'd been there for more than a month now and experience had taught them that it was never a good idea to stay anywhere for too long.

Heyes had been back to the town a few times, when he'd found, to his annoyance, that the Kid chose to spend all of his free time in Mary Adams' company. He couldn't deny that it felt pretty safe. He had made friends there and even shared a drink or two with the sheriff, who was a keen poker player.

Micky's aunt needed some help mending the fence around her house and Heyes, with nothing better to do with his free time, had volunteered. She'd thanked him by baking one of the best apple cakes he'd ever eaten.

On another occasion, the bartender at the saloon, Ben, had caught a stomach bug and left the owner, Queenie, without a bartender for the day. Since it was his day off, Heyes had stepped in to fill the breech, and the delectable Queenie had expressed her appreciation with something far better than apple cake...

But he was missing his friend and he was feeling restless. If he was honest, he was also a little jealous and annoyed that the Kid didn't seem to be missing him at all.

In that, he was correct.

* * *

To Curry's surprise, he'd barely noticed Heyes' absence. He'd never been in love before - not properly, not like this - and it hit him hard.

He was enthralled by her. She was beautiful, she was rich, she was sweet, and he couldn't believe she wanted HIM.

He loved to listen to her as she talked. He felt so sorry for her, widowed at such a young age and left to manage the ranch on her own. She cried as she told him about her loneliness and her sadness and how much she had longed for someone to love, someone to share her life with.

From the first moment they met, there had been an instant attraction. That first night, she had come tentatively to his room and blushing like a schoolgirl, told him she wanted him, and he had been surprised by her passion.

He couldn't get her out of his mind, couldn't begin to think of anything else. He was annoyed by Heyes' constant demands to leave.

Things had ended badly when they last discussed it.

Heyes had already been in a bad mood. It had taken him two days just to get to speak to the Kid alone.

"Kid, we need to move on, you know that."

"Why? No-one suspects anything, no-one has any idea who we are. Summer's almost over, people won't be traveling so much. Why not just stay here over the winter, what's the harm?"

"What's the harm?! What if someone does recognize us and we're snowed in here, we'll be trapped!"

"An' so will they! Anyway, why would anyone recognize us? They haven't so far."

"You know they always do eventually!"

Curry was tired of moving from place to place constantly. He loved Mary and he wasn't ready to leave her yet.

"I'm tired of jumpin' at shadows. Heck, not even the sheriff thinks we're anyone other than Joshua Smith and Thaddeus Jones. I just don't see the problem. For once, we have a roof over our heads, food to eat and warm beds to sleep in. Why can't we just enjoy a little comfort for once?"

"The problem is that you're getting too comfortable!"

Curry narrowed his eyes. "Well, that's just it, isn't it? You don't like me bein' with Mary."

"No. I don't."

Curry tried not to lose his temper. It wasn't easy. "Care to tell me why?"

"What do you think you're gonna do, marry her? Settle down and have a bunch of kids? It's not gonna happen! Do I have to remind you that you're a fugitive, that there's a $10,000 reward on your head that people keep trying to collect?"

"No, Heyes, you don't have to remind me! But how long are we gonna live like this, huh? Sure, it's a risk to stay here, but it sure as hell hasn't been that safe runnin' from place to place either! I love her, Heyes, I've never met anyone like her before! And yes, if there was any way that I could, I would like to stay and marry her and have a bunch of kids. Is that so terrible?"

Heyes paled. He hadn't thought things had gone that far.

"Kid, we can't stay here. Look, we'll come back when the governor gives us our amnesty…"

"The governor's never gonna give us our amnesty, Heyes, it's about time you stopped believing that he will! He's been stringin' us along for two years now and we're still no closer."

"It could be any day now…"

"But it won't be, an' I'm tired of runnin'. Let's just stay here and keep our eyes and ears open. If it looks like someone suspects us, we'll go then. We've travelled in snow before, we won't get trapped."

"But why even risk it? It's too dangerous!"

"Then you go. I'll stay here."

Heyes stepped back, his jaw dropping. "Kid… you know it's safer when we stay together."

Curry felt a pang of guilt, which he instantly buried. He knew Heyes wouldn't leave without him.

"So, we stay here, 'cause I'm not leavin'!"

And with that, he walked away.

* * *

That night, Kid Curry looked into the eyes of the woman he loved and told her everything. He knew he could trust her. She listened quietly to the end and then kissed him.

"You're right, my darling, you'll be safe here over the winter. We'll be careful, don't worry about a thing. I love you and I'm never going to let you go."

He put his arms around her and they kissed. As he fell asleep wrapped in her arms, her mind was working.

The next morning, she told him that she had a letter she needed to write. She sat writing in her study for most of the morning and then rode into town to mail it.

Every morning after that, she went into town to check for mail. Eventually, nine days later, she received a response. She opened the letter right there in the post office and read it. There was a document with it and she looked it over carefully.

Then, smiling, she walked to the telegraph office.

She sent two words in reply.

'Friday train'.


	2. Chapter 2

Heyes was brushing down his horse after a long day when he was surprised to see Mary. Despite her closeness with the Kid, she had hardly spoken to Heyes since they'd arrived. He slept and ate with the others in the bunkhouse and she gave the orders to the foreman.

Heyes didn't think she liked him very much and heaven only knew, the feeling was mutual. He didn't want to think that it was only jealousy, but he didn't trust her. There was just something about her, something he couldn't quite put his finger on...

"Mrs. Adams."

"Mr. Heyes."

He stared at her in shock, and then thought how stupid he was to be surprised. Of course the Kid would have told her by now, he was besotted with her.

"What can I do for you, Mrs. Adams?"

She smiled and sat down on a bale of hay. She motioned for him to sit next to her and smiled sweetly at him.

"It's more about what you can do for your cousin."

He sat down and waited.

"He told me everything. About your lives together, the things you did and the amnesty. You've been waiting a long time, haven't you? Almost two years and no sign of it." Her voice was sympathetic.

He made no acknowledgment.

"Jed told me that you want to leave. It's tearing him apart, he wants to stay so much. He doesn't want to leave now that he's found me, but you're his family, he'd never leave you. If you force him, he will go with you."

He knew it. Kid was used to following his lead. But he also knew, as she did, that the Kid would be angry and resentful, even as he went with him.

"What would you be prepared to do to make your cousin happy, Mr. Heyes? How much do you really care for him?"

He was almost insulted that she'd ask.

"I'd do anything for the Kid. You know that, so does he."

She pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and started to unfold it.

"Thaddy - I'm sorry, I mean Jed, don't I? Jed told me that you have a friend in San Francisco - Silky? Soapy? I'm afraid I don't remember, I'm so bad with names! Anyway, he said your friend has been asking you for some time to go and visit. I have a ticket here for the Friday train, all the way to San Francisco. And it's a return ticket, do you see? All I'm asking is that you give us a little more time together. Preferably the whole winter, but even if it's just a month it would be something. Is that really so very much to ask?"

She held out the ticket and he looked at it. Reluctantly, he reached forward and took it from her.

She smiled tremulously.

"We're in love, Mr. Heyes, we just want to be together a little longer. We aren't fools, we know it can't be forever. We both understand that."

"It's dangerous for him to stay here."

"Is it? No-one suspects he's anyone but Thaddeus Jones and without you here they're much less likely to make the connection. Seeing the two of you, that raises suspicions. Everyone knows you always travel together. If anything, your presence here only makes it more dangerous for him."

He'd never thought about it that way before. He'd never needed to. He and the Kid, they were a team.

When they'd started out, the Kid had been in serious trouble, with a $500 bounty on his head and running from the law. Heyes was just a small-time thief riding with the Devil's Hole Gang, with only a $50 bounty on his head. When his younger cousin had come to him asking for his help, Heyes had tried to protect him, just like he always did. Could he help it that in trying to keep them both safe, he'd made them notorious?

He sat staring at the train ticket. It wasn't like they'd never been apart before, they frequently split up to make money. It's just that this felt different. This wasn't out of necessity, this was because his cousin wanted a chance at happiness, however briefly. A happiness that didn't seem to include him.

"How many years will you go on living this way, moving from place to place, running from posses... Can't you just give him a few wonderful months that he'll remember forever? You can give him something he's always dreamed of, even if it's only for a few weeks! Isn't that something you'd like to do? Didn't you tell him all those years ago that you'd do everything you could for him?"

He had. Trying to comfort his little cousin Jed, who was crying, the smell of burning in their nostrils, the smell of death. He'd promised again later, at Valparaiso. And once more, when Jed was no longer Jed but 'the Kid'. When he'd come to Heyes telling him what he'd done. He hadn't meant to do it, but the man had challenged him when he'd seen him practicing his quick draw. It was a fair fight, but there were no witnesses and the dead man was the sheriff's brother.

Heyes had promised to look after him. Every time, without question, without thought, without hesitation.

He wondered what the Kid had told her. Did he tell her about all of it? That first promise? They'd never mentioned that day again, ever, not even between themselves. But had he told her? Did he really love her that much?

He still hesitated. Just for a moment, and he hated himself for it. He recognized that he was being selfish, but they were partners. Family.

But she was right. He had promised to do whatever he could for the Kid and Hannibal Heyes kept his promises. If there was nothing else that could be said about him, he was at least a man of his word.

Resigned, he said, "Alright."

She sighed, and relaxed a little. She hadn't been sure, not completely.

Heyes stared at the ticket again and then folded it carefully.

"You'll let me know if there are any problems, any danger?"

"Of course I will. I love him, I'll keep him safe. I want him with me, after all, not in a prison cell!"

* * *

After she left, Heyes felt angry, resentful.

He saddled his horse again and rode into town. He walked into the saloon and drank three shots of whiskey one after the other. Then he took one of the saloon girls upstairs. When he was finished, he came back downstairs and continued to drink until he could no longer stand. Queenie and the bartender carried him upstairs and he slept there until the morning.

He left money for the room on his pillow and walked out of the saloon without saying a word to anyone. He knew that he was being ridiculous, acting out because he was resentful and jealous, but he couldn't help it.

He rode back slowly.

The air was warm and fresh, the late summer sunflowers waving in the breeze, lazy bumblebees buzzing back and forth in the sunshine and the singing of birds overhead. Everything seemed impossibly bright and beautiful, and he saw none of it.

When he got back, he tied up his horse and went into the bunkhouse, where he began to sort through his things and pack.

Bill appeared in the doorway. "You leavin'?"

"Yep."

"Where ya goin'?"

"Movin' on." He thought of something. "I'm taking the horse. I'll leave her at the train station in the morning, okay?"

"Sure. I'll get her."

"Thanks." Heyes reached out and shook the man's hand.

"Thanks for everything. Say goodbye to everyone, will you?"

"Surely. Don't want to stay a while longer and say it y'self? Boys are gonna miss you."

"No, I want to go now. Take care, Bill."

"Goodbye and good luck, Mr. Heyes."

Heyes had started to turn away and turned back quickly, his eyes wide.

"I was in the barn yesterday. I heard everything. Sure you won't stay?"

"No. I can't. She's right, we're more likely to be recognized if we stay here together and we've already been here far too long. At least this way, if something happens to one of us, the other is free to help."

"Makes sense. Still hard to walk away though."

"Yeah. Would you let me know if anything happens, if there's any trouble?" He quickly pulled some paper and a pen out of his saddlebags and scrawled a quick note. "Send a telegram to this address if you need to reach me."

"I reckon I can do that."

Heyes nodded and then said, "Thanks. Will you look out for him, make sure he's okay?"

"I will. She really seems to love him. She'll treat him real well, don't you worry."

Despite himself, Heyes snorted. "Been worrying about that kid since we were children, not gonna stop now."

"You just keep y'self safe, and you come back here when you're ready. We'll watch over him until then."

Heyes threw his saddlebags over his shoulder and led his horse to the front of the house.

* * *

Sure enough, they were sitting there, sipping tea and eating freshly baked cookies. Mary shaded her eyes and said something to the Kid, then walked over to Heyes.

"I came to say goodbye to him."

He thought he saw sympathy in her eyes.

"I'll leave you two alone. I'll take care of him, Mr. Heyes. He'll be happy with me."

She left with a swish of her skirts and he walked over to the porch.

Curry eyed him suspiciously. "You goin' somewhere?"

Heyes swallowed. "Heading out."

Curry looked at him in shock. "You're leavin'?"

"Yeah. Going to San Francisco to visit Soapy for a few weeks."

"Just like that, without sayin' nothin'?!" Curry couldn't believe that Heyes was actually going to go to San Francisco without him.

"We discussed it."

"That was not a discussion, it was an argument!"

"Which is all we ever seem to do anymore!"

"Finally, something we agree on!"

"Yeah, and that's another reason why I think we need some time apart."

They glared at each other for a few moments, until Heyes tried again.

"You're happy here, I'm not. Makes sense for us to split for a while."

"Are you crazy? Of course it doesn't make sense! We always watch out for each other."

"You have Mary to take care of you. I'll be back soon, I promise."

"Keep your damn promises! You know I'm the only thing that's kept you alive all these years!"

Heyes bristled. "I managed well enough before we started riding together, I think I can survive a couple of months in San Francisco."

"A couple of months!" Curry tried to hide his sense of hurt. "Fine. Go ahead and leave if you're gonna. Just don't blame me when it all goes wrong."

"Kid, please! It's just two months... try to understand..."

"No, it's okay Heyes, I get it. You always have to be the one deciding whether we stay or go and if I don't agree, then you'll just go anyway, without me. Maybe you're right, maybe we do need some time apart. Maybe it'll be good for me to spend a little time with someone who doesn't think every suggestion I make is stupid."

"I don't think your ideas are stupid!"

Curry sighed. "Fine." He realized that this whole argument was proving Heyes right. Maybe they did some time away from each other. "Go to San Francisco, say hi to Soapy for me."

Heyes nodded, glad that they reached the same conclusion at last, but sorry they'd argued. He didn't like leaving things this way, but his train was due to leave soon and he was going to have to hurry.

"I'll see you in two months. Take care of yourself, Kid."

"You too, Heyes."

As he turned his horse, he looked back at his cousin and had a sudden unreasoning premonition of dread. For an instant, it was almost overwhelming and he nearly jumped off his horse to convince his cousin to go with him and get away from this place.

He saw Mary watching from the window, waiting for him to leave.

He was being ridiculous. He was just imagining things because he didn't want to leave Kid here with that woman. The woman the Kid loved, that loved him back. He could give them two months.

He fought down his foreboding, but he knew he didn't want to part this way, with those words still hanging in the air between them, even if it was only for a few weeks.

He couldn't remember saying the words before in his life, but it suddenly seemed so important to say it before he left.

"Love ya, Kid."

Curry froze at the words, his anger replaced by shock and confusion. Before he could respond, Heyes was gone, galloping into the distance in a cloud of dust.

Mary came over and took her lover's hand.

"He left!"

"I'm sorry, my love. You know he wasn't happy here."

"I can't believe he left..."

She took his hand and guided him to the porch. "I'm sure he'll be back soon and until then, we have each other."

Curry allowed himself to be led back and tried to be comforted by the soothing words. It didn't work.

He had a very bad feeling that something was going to happen.


	3. Chapter 3

Hannibal Heyes didn't see the men until it was too late.

He was waiting at the station, when he had a sense that something was wrong. Looking up, he saw a group of men walking towards him, their guns raised, their intent clear. He turned quickly, only to find another group of men coming from the other direction.

Desperately, he looked around him. There was nowhere to run. He was surrounded.

He hoisted his bags onto his shoulder and raised his hands. The men smiled as they came towards him. They looked predatory.

"Gentlemen."

"Hannibal Heyes."

He knew it was useless, but he had to try.

"Ah, I knew they'd been a mistake! The name's Joshua Smith. Don't feel bad, it happens all the time…"

The eldest of the men backhanded Heyes in the face. The force of the blow struck his nose and drew blood and a large ring on the man's hand cut his lip.

"You better be learning when to speak and when to be quiet, boy." He saw the angry look in the outlaw's eyes. "In fact, you better be learning a lot of things, and now's a good time to get started."

He pulled out his baton and struck Heyes hard in the stomach. The man behind him hit the back of his legs and Heyes fell to his knees, hunched over, winded from the blow. His bags fell to the floor. A series of blows landed across his shoulders and back.

The leader bent down to look at him. "We know who you are, Heyes, and we're here to take you in."

The elderly station master called out, "Hey, whatcha doin? Leave him alone!"

The older man turned to the station master. "None of your business, old man."

"You got no cause to be beating him! I saw it all, he didn't do nothin' to you!"

"This man is in my custody, I can do whatever I want. Now you best be getting out of here before you get hurt as well."

A few other people stood watching on the platform, powerless to help.

Heyes felt his assailant's breath, warm and acrid, as the man leaned into him and sneered, "Now we can be sure you ain't gonna run. But we're gonna go ahead and shackle you anyhow."

He felt the iron close around his wrists and ankles and he was pulled roughly to his feet.

"You're mine now, boy."

The journey passed in a blur of pain and discomfort. They gave him no food or water and his head started to ache from the dehydration.

He was surprised, but pleased, to find that the Kid wasn't travelling with him. Heyes had been sure that if they knew where to find him, they must know where the Kid was as well; but that couldn't be the case. If the Kid had been caught, then surely, they would be on the train together? And if they were going to try and take him after they caught Heyes, some of the men would have stayed behind.

Even if there were others that he didn't know about, he thought someone from town would ride out to the ranch and try to warn the Kid. He had to believe that they had enough friends there to ensure that, at least.

* * *

Curly was in town, picking up a mended saddle from the livery, when he saw the arrest of Hannibal Heyes. He had heard the shouts of the old conductor and witnessed the beating and his blood had run cold. He heard the whisper run through the crowd, "Hannibal Heyes! Joshua Smith is Hannibal Heyes!"

Curly was no great thinker, but it didn't take much to figure that if Joshua Smith was Hannibal Heyes, then Thaddeus Jones must be Kid Curry, and they would surely be going to capture him next.

Curly forgot about the saddle and ran to his horse, galloping all the way to the ranch.

Mary Adams was sitting on her porch drinking lemonade. As he rode into the yard, her eyebrows rose.

"Curly, whatever is the matter?"

"Mrs. Adams, I was just in town… they arrested Joshua Smith - they said he was Hannibal Heyes! I gotta tell Mr. Jones!"

Because of his relationship with Mrs. Adams, Curry had continued to be known as Mr. Jones, no matter how many times he had asked them to call him Thaddeus.

Mary looked at him thoughtfully and then walked over to stand beside him. "Curly…"

"Yes, Mrs. Adams?" His eyes searched around for Mr. Jones.

She put a hand on his shoulder and raised her watery blue eyes to his.

"Curly, do you really think he doesn't know? How do you think they knew Mr. Heyes was here?"

Curly looked at her, his jaw dropping. "He told them?"

She nodded and wiped a tear from her eye.

"He said there's another side to Mr. Heyes, a side that none of us have seen. Mr. Heyes did lead a band of ruthless outlaws, after all. Mr. Jones..." she paused and considered the name for a moment. Everyone knew now that he wasn't 'Mr. Jones', but she needed to keep up the facade a little longer.

"Mr. Jones said that Mr. Heyes has been increasingly violent, and that for some time he has been afraid of what Mr. Heyes might do. Mr. Heyes recently threatened my life," she paused as Curly gasped in horror, "and I'm afraid that was the last straw. To protect me, he decided he needed to deliver Mr. Heyes to justice once and for all."

Curly considered this. He didn't think a lady like Mrs. Adams would lie, and how would they have known where Heyes was if someone didn't tell them? Joshua always seemed just as nice as could be, but she was right, he did lead the Devils Hole Gang…

Another thought occurred to him. "Ain't Kid Curry wanted, too?"

"Yes, Curly, he was. But to reward him for his good deed, the governor is going to grant him amnesty. Do you know what that is?"

Curly shook his head.

"It means that all his crimes will be forgiven and he can start afresh. But please don't mention it to anyone, it's not official yet."

Curly digested that for a few minutes. She was sure she could hear him trying to think.

"But ain't he killed people?"

She shook her head in disappointment at his comment. "They were all fair fights, Curly; there were witnesses. It was only because he ran for help to Hannibal Heyes that he became involved with stealing." She looked at him seriously. "A man may be called upon to use his skills with a gun to defend himself, but there is no justification for stealing from innocent men and women, and Mr. Jones is sorry for what he has done."

Curly nodded. If she said it was so, then she must be right.

"Joshua sure did seem like a nice fella."

"I believe that is often the way with men like that."

Curly turned to leave and she stopped him.

"Curly, will you do something for me?"

He nodded. "Of course, Mrs. Adams."

"Will you tell the other men to say nothing? This has been a very traumatic time for Mr. Jones and it would be upsetting for him to hear it spoken of. I would be upset as well. Very upset. I don't think I could continue to employ a man who was so… insensitive."

Curly was surprised. That almost sounded like a threat. He shook his head. Of course Mrs. Adams wouldn't threaten anyone. She was just the nicest lady he'd ever met.

* * *

When Heyes arrived in Wyoming, he was pulled roughly off the train and thrown over a horse, which carried him the remaining miles to the jail that would hold him until his trial. The agony of the ride after his beating was unbearable and after the first few minutes, he passed out.

At the jail, they made completely sure that Hannibal Heyes wasn't going to escape. They kept his hands tied with rope behind his back, so there were no locks that he could pick. They untied him when he needed to eat and attend to his needs and then tied him up again.

He lay on the cot, uncomfortable, tired and in pain, sure in the knowledge that everything was about to get much, much worse.

* * *

As Curry lay in his bed in the still of the night, he thought about what Heyes had said as he was leaving.

 _Love ya, Kid._

Why had he said that?

He was the one leaving, not the Kid. And why did he say it then? Like that? They'd had fights like that before, disagreements that had caused one or the other to walk away, only to come back again the next day as if nothing had happened. Neither of them liked to apologize; they'd just saunter back and pretend everything was fine and dandy.

 _Love ya, Kid._

It sounded like...

It sounded like goodbye. A real goodbye.

It sounded final.

And Heyes hadn't been angry, which the Kid would have expected. He'd seemed almost… sad.

Yeah, that was it. Sad. Like it was killing him to leave.

But why would that be? He was the one choosing to go and he could come back at any time. Just saunter on in, push back his hat and smile that infuriating smile of his.

The words kept on replying in his head.

 _Love ya, Kid._

They both did, of course. Love each other, that is. But they'd never said like that, out loud. Perhaps, if they were confessing to a knowing God, they might have admitted to saying it under their breath now and then, when danger or sickness was threatening and they thought that this might just be the last moment they would have to say it.

But just to say it like that, in broad daylight, in the bright sunshine of a late summer afternoon? With no danger or sickness or threat of extinction?

 _Love ya, Kid._

He couldn't understand it.

He felt that there was something here he didn't know, like he was playing his hand without knowing what the cards were.

It hadn't felt like their usual arguments. It felt… final. He remembered the bad feeling he'd had as Heyes rode away.

Maybe he should send a telegram asking Soapy to let him know when Heyes arrived? He rolled over in the bed and groaned. He was just being ridiculous, and Heyes would only laugh at him and his misgivings. Heyes was a grown man, he would be just fine, and if he wasn't, Soapy would let him know. Heyes would be back in a month or two, and until then, Kid would enjoy spending his time with Mary.

 _Love ya, Kid._

He wished he'd said it back.

* * *

Heyes slept badly, and it felt as though he had only just fallen asleep, when he was woken by an unfamiliar voice.

"Hannibal Heyes, we meet at last!"

Heyes struggled to sit up. "I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage."

The other man chuckled. "Indeed I do! And I have since we first made our agreement."

Heyes felt a ripple of shock run through him. "Governor Hamilton."

"Yes."

He tried to be hopeful, but the governor's manner was not that of a man about to grant him his freedom. Nevertheless, he ventured, "The amnesty?"

The governor smiled. "Do you know I couldn't believe it when Sheriff Trevors approached me about that? Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry would cease to be outlaws, and all I had to do was promise them an amnesty. Did you really think I was serious?"

"You gave us your word!"

"Who would believe you? The words of Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry against that of the governor of Wyoming!"

"Lom Trevors knew about it."

"A reformed outlaw. His word would be little better than yours. No, Mr. Heyes, that wouldn't have helped you."

"So why arrest me now? Why not just take us in before? There were plenty of times when you knew where we were!"

"Why bother? You weren't causing any trouble anymore. In fact, you actually proved to be helpful in certain circumstances."

"Then why now?" Heyes repeated.

The governor chuckled again. "You know, life can be funny sometimes with its twists and turns, don't you agree?"

Heyes said nothing.

"It really is the most amusing coincidence. You wouldn't know, Mr. Heyes, but I have a cousin of whom I am extremely fond." He smiled, as if at a secret joke. "She recently met a man that she wants very much to marry. The only problem is that he's a wanted outlaw and he was preparing to leave her, even though he had already compromised her virtue."

Heyes' eyes widened as he made the connection. "Mary Adams is your cousin?"

"Yes indeed, Mr. Heyes. She is very taken with your partner, but I'm afraid she didn't much care for you. It seems that you had a little too much of a hold over Mr. Curry and we couldn't have that, could we? As an added bonus, the reward will be useful when they're planning the wedding. They can be so expensive nowadays."

"The wedding?" His blood ran cold. He had never trusted her, but had thought it was just because he was jealous of her influence with the Kid. Now he wished he had said something at the time, because it looked as though he was going to marry that woman. "They can't get married, he's still an outlaw!"

The governor shook his head. "Mr. Heyes, you're not thinking clearly, are you?"

Heyes stared at him in shock. "You're going to give the Kid his amnesty?"

"I'm working on the paperwork as we speak. What's more, you're going to help. You're going to stand up in court and tell the world that Kid Curry is innocent of all crimes. He was nothing more than an accessory, riding beside you out of kinship and childhood loyalty."

Heyes flashed him a look. He wanted the Kid to get his amnesty, heaven only knew, but if the flip side of that was making it possible for him to marry Mary Adams, he'd prefer the Kid to remain an outlaw.

"No-one would ever believe that, even if I agreed to do it."

Governor Hamilton guessed his thoughts. "Ah, Mr. Heyes, people will believe what you tell them, and you WILL tell them. Let me explain why. You will be convicted, of that there is no doubt. You are undeniably guilty and you've made far too many enemies. Important enemies. Bankers, railroad magnets, oil men. Men with power and a lot of money behind them. They don't really care about the Kid, they never did. So what if he's shot a few people here and there? No-one can prove it wasn't self defense and no-one cares anyway. You were always the problem. You embarrassed them, stole their money and hurt their businesses. They want revenge. You will go to prison, Mr. Heyes. There is no escaping it."

Heyes felt sick. Prison. He'd heard things about prisons. He was an outlaw, how could he not?

The dark rooms, the locked doors. Worse than the orphanage he had hated so much. That was where he perfected the art of picking locks, locked in their room at night, or locked in the small closet as a punishment; it was his greatest fear. He couldn't breathe, couldn't think. He'd pick the locks and free himself or his cousin and they'd sleep side by side until Heyes' internal clock told him it was time to go back inside and turn the lock again.

He thought it would kill him to be locked away with no way to escape it. He thought he might even prefer to be dead than trapped like that. But no. He was a survivor. He would survive this.

"You will be sentenced to twenty years. Imagine that for a moment; twenty years in prison. Think what that can do to a man. Now imagine that for your cousin."

Heyes looked up in shock.

"It will make no difference to your sentence if you take responsibility for the crimes. But if you don't, Mr. Curry will be captured and made to stand trial. I can tell you that he would also receive the maximum penalty for his crimes. In fact, I can guarantee it."

"So, there are your choices. Admit to everything and exonerate him so that he can marry Mary, or condemn him to twenty years in jail. It's up to you."


	4. Chapter 4

The trial of Hannibal Heyes was not going to be the greatest moment in America's justice system.

Heyes was appointed a lawyer who made it clear that his job was to please his employer's best friend, Governor Hamilton. He spent as little time as possible with Heyes, only taking a moment to verify that Heyes was planning to take responsibility for all crimes and clear the name of his cousin, Jedediah 'Kid' Curry.

Heyes knew he would have to do it. While it was terrible think of the Kid married to Mary Adams, it was worse to think of him rotting in jail for twenty years. At least this way the Kid would be free, and who knew what might happen to save him from Mary? Heyes hoped that he could get word to somebody, perhaps Lom, but he was kept so closely guarded that it didn't seem possible.

The trial was arranged within three days. Nobody was notified and there were no witnesses called for the defense. He was pleading guilty; why would there be?

Hannibal Heyes was arrested, tried and sentenced in less than a week. He wondered if the Kid even knew. But then, he thought, he must. Someone in town would have told him about the arrest and Kid would know where they would take him. Perhaps he was trying to save him even now, riding hell-for-leather towards the jail.

The only thing he knew with any certainty, was that as soon as the Kid heard about Heyes' arrest, he would do everything in his power to free him. He just hoped that Kid didn't get himself arrested in the process.

He tried to be hopeful as they transported him to the prison, but in his head he kept hearing the voice of the judge as he called out "Twenty years!".

Twenty years.

He'd expected it and tried to be ready for it, but still... twenty years!

The number seemed impossible to him, unbelievable. A ridiculously large number, like fifty thousand or twenty million.

He wouldn't live in prison for twenty years - people didn't. He knew that at least. Jim Santana had managed seven and he'd heard of a man who got out of prison after eleven years. That man was spoken of with amazement and awe.

He would die in prison.

He would spend the rest of his life locked in a small, dark cell and he would die there.

He would never again smell the fresh mountain air he loved so much. He would never again hear birdsong or watch the trees change color or drink fresh brewed coffee under a canopy of trees on a crisp, cool, autumn morning. He would never again sleep under the stars.

At the prison, they stripped him of his clothes, cut his hair and forced him into a striped prison uniform made of a rough, scratchy material.

He tried to make his brain take it all in as they screamed rules at him and dragged him to a cell.

And then they left him there, to begin the rest of his life.

* * *

Hannibal Heyes didn't know if he believed in heaven, but he was sure there was a hell and he was living in it.

Prison was everything he'd feared and more.

He was put to work breaking rocks at the quarry. He thought of all the times he and the Kid had tried to avoid back breaking work, and now here he was, set to do it for the next twenty years.

He never thought he'd be happy that the days were getting shorter, but they worked from sunup to sundown. He didn't think he could survive working the longer summer days, he was exhausted all the time already.

His cell was dark and cold, and it smelled of stale air and unclean living. Sunlight couldn't seem to penetrate the small slit window above his head that constituted the only light he had. He hated the cold and the dark, but more than that, he hated that he could no longer read whenever he chose. They were allowed to read the Bible - nothing else - but with only the small amount of light that came into his cell, he couldn't even have read that.

But the worst part was the silence.

They were never allowed to speak unless they were asked a question by a guard, something that rarely seemed to happen.

The prison warden was a man who believed that atonement and quiet contemplation was good for the soul. He was a harsh man of strong convictions, who felt that he was doing God's work redeeming the sinners. His prison was for the hard cases, the men who were unlikely to ever return to the world, the souls who could not be reclaimed. He allowed no visitors, no letters, no light in the darkness. He felt that if he could give them a taste of hell on earth, then they would have a greater interest in purifying their souls for the hereafter.

Silence was the hardest thing for Heyes to adjust to. He found himself constantly being beaten for talking when he hadn't even been aware that he was doing so. He'd started talking to himself, needing to hear a voice, needing to speak and be heard. When he was locked in silence, all of his words flew around in his head and made him feel that he was going insane.

He had always liked to talk, he had always done it for himself and the Kid when they were stuck in a jam or running some kind of a con. And now, he didn't even have that.

He was an optimist by nature; too many things had happened in his life for him to lose all hope. But it was a struggle to continue.

He made himself a promise - every day he told himself, I'll get through today; I won't think about tomorrow, but I'll survive for one more day. Each day was separate, a unique challenge that he would conquer. He was not serving a sentence of twenty years, one after the other. He was serving a sentence of innumerable single days, each one separate and disconnected. That way, he thought, he might just get through it.

He might still be defeated in the end, but he would fight against it. He was still, after all, the great Hannibal Heyes, and he was a survivor.

* * *

Thaddeus Jones didn't know why nobody seemed to talk to him anymore.

When he first came to Silvervale, he'd got along with everybody well enough, although his attention had been mostly on Mary. But now, everywhere he went, people seemed to shun him. A few would say 'Good morning' when they saw him, but they didn't linger to speak with him. When he tried to start up a conversation, they quickly made an excuse to leave.

He didn't think he could have done anything to upset them; Mary had kept him so busy at the ranch that he hadn't been near the town for weeks. Every time he had talked about it, she found something that she needed him to do. It was a shock when he realized that three weeks had gone by without making the trip.

Now he was aware that there was an undercurrent that ran through all his interactions.

He saw it directed at Mary, as well. Whatever it was seemed to include both of them. He'd see the tightening of her lips when she was snubbed, oh so subtly, by the clerk at the mercantile or the pharmacy. When they went to the small restaurant he had enjoyed with Heyes, they waited longer than anyone else to be served, and when they received their food it was generally cold and unappetizing. For some reason, Mary never wanted him to complain about it.

She blamed the beginnings of respectability and small-town morality that were starting to creep into this old mining town. They were, after all, openly living in sin.

But that didn't explain why he found it so hard to get a drink at the saloon, or why Queenie and her girls never smiled at him. They were ladies of the night, to use one of Heyes' expressions - they could hardly be accused of middle class morality. He just didn't understand it.

* * *

When the townsfolk witnessed the arrest of the man they knew as Joshua Smith, they were shocked. They all liked him and were horrified when they saw his treatment at the train station. They assumed, at first, that he had been spotted and caught leaving town.

When the details began to emerge, a very different picture started to unfold.

They couldn't understand how he had been so easily caught while Kid Curry remained free. Everyone knew that the two travelled together. Then, when the ranch hands told them what they knew about the affair - Curly had quickly shared his information with everyone - it was the biggest piece of gossip to hit the town in a long time. Few of them believed that Heyes was a bad man; but everyone believed that Kid Curry had betrayed his partner, especially when the telegraph operator and the banker told them what they knew. With each successive piece of news that came in, the tide of opinion turned further away from the couple.

Although it was discussed freely in the bunkhouse and in the town, no-one said a word to Kid Curry, since they believed he already knew everything about it. Besides, no-one wanted to get into an altercation with the gunslinger.

* * *

At first, Bill wasn't sure what he believed. After overhearing the conversation in the barn, he truly believed that Mary had spoken to Heyes without the Kid's knowledge.

But as time went by, he found that he wasn't entirely convinced that Kid Curry wasn't involved somehow. The man was so completely besotted with Mary and seemed so indifferent to the loss of his friend and partner; he didn't mention him once. He didn't know that Curry was naturally quiet, used to letting his partner speak for both of them, and since the ranch hands suddenly seemed so unfriendly, he was hardly likely to start talking to them about how much he missed his partner.

Despite his promise to Heyes to watch over the Kid, Bill began to keep his distance from the couple.

* * *

Kid Curry realized that he was lonely.

He loved Mary still, wholeheartedly and without question, of course he did. But somehow, he was realizing that she wasn't quite enough. He missed Heyes, with his endless chatter and his unique perspective on every single subject.

There were times - about a million each day - when he had wished for nothing more than five minutes of peace and quiet and a stop to Heyes' incessant chatter; but now… what he wouldn't give to see that grin, and hear whatever hare-brained scheme might be behind it. He thought about sending a telegram or writing a letter, but decided against it. Heyes said he'd be back in two months, so Kid Curry would wait.

He wondered, as he slowly sipped his whiskey (who knew when he could get another, old Ben was pointedly facing the other way and ignoring him), what Heyes was doing right now, and on what day he'd be coming back.

Heyes had been gone one month.

* * *

When Curry returned to the ranch, Mary rushed out to meet him, her eyes shining.

"Jed, you have a letter."

His face lit up. "From Heyes?"

He must have imagined the quick flash of annoyance that passed over her face.

"No, not from Heyes. From the governor!"

He took it from her and examined it curiously.

"Open it!"

He did, and pulled out the document inside.

His heart skipped a beat as he saw the first word.

 _Amnesty._

He read it over once, twice, and then a third and fourth time trying to believe it. With a shaking hand, he passed it to her. She took it and shrieked with joy.

"I thought it must be! Why else would you receive a letter from the governor? Jedediah Curry, you are a free man! We can get married at last!"

She ran into his arms and he lifted her and whirled her around. As she leaned into him for a kiss, he didn't notice, and instead asked her, "Do you think Heyes will come back now?"

This time he knew he hadn't imagined her irritation.

"Why would Heyes come back now?"

"Well, if he's sending us our amnesty... The governor obviously knows where I am, although I have no idea how. Heyes must have been in touch with Lom and told him! Now that our names are clear, Heyes can come back. He doesn't have to worry about being recognized anymore."

Mary tried to conceal her annoyance. "My love, it was never about being seen. He didn't like me and he didn't like us being together."

Curry tried to protest, even though he knew that she was right. "No, it wasn't that..."

"You know it was."

"Alright, it wasn't only that! He's probably heading back this way right now, I'm sure of it!"

She was furious. She had planned this day for weeks. She'd made a wonderful dinner, all of his favorites, and she thought that once he had the amnesty in his hand, the only thing on his mind would be their wedding. And now, once again, all he was thinking about was Heyes.

He could see her annoyance and decided to try to be a little more conciliatory.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart." He saw her soften at his endearment. "I was just thinkin' that maybe we should fix up the guest room for when he comes back? Seems wrong for him to be in the bunkhouse now that we're gettin' married, since he's family."

She recognized his attempt to appease her and managed not to roll her eyes at his suggestion.

She had been pleasantly surprised that no one had spoken to him about Heyes, whose name had been plastered all over the newspapers for two weeks after his arrest. First, with surprise at his capture and speedy trial, and then with shock at the harshness of a sentence given to a man who had never physically harmed anyone. She knew from the attitudes of the townspeople and the sullen faces of her own ranch hands, that they didn't believe her story.

But for whatever reason, it seemed that they had chosen to stay quiet, and Jed was as much in the dark now as he had always been. If he wanted to believe that Heyes might come back, then where was the harm in humoring him? She couldn't very well tell him the truth.

She smiled at him, filling her eyes with innocence and love. "I think that's a good idea! I'll talk to Micky about it tomorrow. But for now, why don't we celebrate?"

He kissed her and taking her hand, followed her inside.

When Micky came the next day to fix up the room, he took his orders from Mary. She had been fortunate so far that the ranch hands and Jed had not spoken about Heyes. They were obviously not happy about what had happened and were keeping Jed at a distance; and he, sensing their dislike, didn't speak to them unless it was about work. She intended to keep it like that as long as possible. She knew that he would find out eventually, but the longer she could delay it, the better.

They finished the room and it sat there, empty and unused, as the time went by.


	5. Chapter 5

Kid Curry wasn't sure why he and Mary hadn't set a date yet.

He should have. Mary had been a respectable woman before they met, and now that he was free to marry her, he was dragging his feet. He supposed he was waiting for Heyes to come back, but where was the harm in deciding on the date? He didn't know.

After another week of waiting, Mary finally told him that she couldn't be his 'woman' any longer and she wanted to announce their wedding. He agreed, surprised at his own reluctance, and at the relief he felt when he heard that they would have to wait three more weeks for the church.

At least Heyes would be back by then.

* * *

In Porterville, Lom Trevors was going out of his mind with boredom as he recovered from a bullet wound to the leg.

It had become infected and he had been out of his mind with a fever for a little while. There were other complications with the injury and his recovery had been slow. As a result, the doctor ordered complete relaxation of body and mind. To ensure that, he employed a nurse to take care of the sheriff while he was bedridden. The indomitable old matron, Mrs. Martha Plunkett, wouldn't even allow him a newspaper to read, approving only easy, uncomplicated novels that wouldn't overtax him.

Lom loved to read the news and keep up with what was happening, and he'd missed it. He'd ordered her to save the papers for him to read when he was better.

Now, nearly a month after the original injury, he had finally been allowed to catch up on the events of the past few weeks.

He began with the oldest papers and froze when he saw the newspaper headline, _'Hannibal Heyes Arrested!'_ He checked the date - it was about the time of his own injury. He began to read it carefully, trying to tell himself not to worry.

Heyes had been arrested before, many times, and they made no mention of Kid Curry. If the Kid was still on the loose, then Heyes wouldn't be under lock and key for very long, he was sure of that.

Then, absurdly soon after the first article, there was another headline.

 _'Hannibal Heyes Tried and Convicted! Sentenced to 20 Years!'_

He double checked the date. It was less than a week later.

His blood ran cold. He couldn't believe how quickly they had brought Heyes to trial. Why had no witnesses been called? And why had Heyes not only offered no defense, but confessed to all the crimes attributed to him and insisted that his partner was innocent of all charges?

That, at least, sounded like Heyes, but why had the Kid let it happen? And where was he during all of this? Why had neither of them contacted him? And where was the Kid now? He wouldn't have stayed in Silvervale after Heyes' arrest, but why hadn't he got in touch with Lom since then?

Lom tried to get up, but only succeeded in knocking over a small table holding a glass of water.

Mrs. Plunkett came rushing in. "Sheriff Trevors, what do you think you're doing?"

"I have to get up, I have to go to Wyoming."

"Nonsense! You aren't nearly well enough yet. The doctor expects you to stay in bed for at least another week unless you wish for a return of the infection."

"It's important!"

"Is it to do with something you read in one of the papers?"

"Yes!"

"Then it's already waited this long. It can wait a little longer."

* * *

Two weeks later, Lom Trevors arrived at the prison in Wyoming. He had heard about this prison. While it wasn't the worst, he knew that the warden supported silence and solitude, allowing no communication to the prisoners, and he wondered how his loquacious friend would survive in such a place.

He limped slowly over to the office and asked to speak to the warden. Within minutes, he was greeted by a large, grim-faced man with a long, grey beard.

"Sheriff Trevors. My name is Gregory Best, I'm the warden of this prison. How can I help you?"

"I believe you have Hannibal Heyes serving time in this prison. I wondered if I could speak with him."

Best's mouth tightened. "I don't approve of prisoners receiving visitors, sir. This is a prison, intended for punishment, not a club for socializing!"

"I understand that, Mr. Best. But I had a case some time ago that may have involved Mr. Heyes. I would appreciate the opportunity to question him about it and hear his version of the events."

"Of course, that is different. If it will help with a legal enquiry, then on this single occasion - and only this occasion, mind - I will allow it. You may speak with the prisoner just as soon as he returns with the work crew."

"Work crew?"

"Yes, Mr. Trevors, work! I do not believe in idle hands. When men's bodies are exhausted their minds have no time to formulate mischief! I have the new prisoners breaking rocks in the quarry every day from sunup to sundown."

Trevors thought of Heyes, always a slight man, used to exercising his mind, not his body, working at back breaking labor for this tyrant. He tried not to let his feelings show on his face.

"In the meantime, sir, would you like to join me for a cup of tea? Or would you prefer to see something of the prison?"

Lom decided that he would like to see exactly what kind of place this was.

"I'd be very interested in a tour, if you'd be so kind."

"Certainly!"

* * *

The tour was certainly thorough. The warden showed him the close, airless cells, the dark isolation cell known as 'the hole' that was used for punishment, and the 'old grey mare', the wooden structure they tied prisoners to when they administered whippings.

After touring the prison for an hour, Lom wanted nothing more than to leave. He couldn't imagine spending a day there, let alone a year. He hated to think of how long his friend could last in such conditions.

They heard the clanking of chains as the work gang returned.

"It sounds as though your man has returned. Let me lead you to an interview room and the guards will bring him there in a few moments."

Hiding his revulsion, Lom held out his hand. "Thank you for your hospitality, sir. This has certainly been an eye-opening experience."

"Thank you, Mr. Trevors," replied his host, obviously assuming 'eye opening' was a compliment, "it was a pleasure to meet you."

He was led to a reasonably comfortable room and sat and waited. Less than twenty minutes later, the door opened and admitted Hannibal Heyes.

Lom was shocked by his appearance.

Heyes had always been slight, but he'd lost weight in the few weeks he'd been in jail. He had always been careful about his appearance, but now he was covered in dirt and dust from the quarry, and his hair was closely cropped. He walked stiffly, as if every movement hurt - which, thought Lom, it probably did.

His eyes were down as he entered the room, but once he was inside he looked up and gasped in surprise.

"Lom!"

At his exclamation, the guard struck him with his baton.

"Silence!" He looked over at Lom. "Sorry about that, sir. Some of them take a little longer to learn the rules. Seems this one just can't seem to get it into his head!"

Lom knew he had to still play his part. Trying not to look at Heyes, Lom answered, "I understand, thank you. Now if you wouldn't mind leaving us alone, I have some questions for him."

"Are you sure, sir? I've heard he can be tricky."

"I can handle him, don't worry."

"Very well, sir." He used his baton to push up Heyes' chin and warned him, "I'll be right outside if there's any trouble."

Once the door closed behind him, Lom rushed over to his friend and helped him to a seat.

"Oh God, Heyes!"

"I… look that good, huh?" His voice sounded hoarse and painful, but he smiled at his old friend.

Lom found a pitcher of water and poured a glass for him. He drank it gratefully and Lom refilled the glass.

"Thanks. It's good to see you. How are you here? I thought they didn't allow visitors."

"I told the warden I wanted to ask you about an old case. I've been sick and I didn't know anything until I saw the story in an old newspaper two weeks ago. I couldn't travel until now or I would have come sooner."

Heyes looked worried. "Are you okay?"

"Compared to you, I'm in peak physical condition! I took a bullet to the leg and it got infected. It's better now. More importantly, what the hell happened to you? And where's the Kid?"

"You haven't seen him?"

"No. I saw in the paper he'd got his amnesty, but it didn't say where he was."

Heyes looked worried. "You've got to find him, Lom, and make sure he's okay."

"Slow down and tell me the whole story."

Heyes swallowed, and then haltingly told him everything. Even after only a few weeks of living in silence, he found himself stumbling over the words. Lom listened patiently, trying not to notice how much Heyes had already changed after only a brief imprisonment.

At last, he reached the end of his tale. "So that's it."

Lom was stunned. "Heyes…"

Heyes said bitterly, "At least one of us gets his amnesty."

"Kid wouldn't have wanted it like this, Heyes. You know he wouldn't."

"Yeah, I know. This was all her doing, her and the governor. Apparently I was the one holding him back; I always thought we were in it together. Guess I'm glad I didn't know before because I don't know what I would've done."

"Heyes, you didn't hold him back. You and the Kid were equal partners."

Heyes shrugged. "I guess. But Lom, he needs to get free of that woman! You have to stop him from marrying Mary before she ruins his life!"

"I'll try, Heyes."

"Please, Lom. Now he has his freedom, he could do anything…"

They were both quiet for a few moments, thinking of the life that had now opened up for the Kid, a life that Heyes would never have.

"It could've been worse. Way things have been going lately, we probably wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway. We never had any money, food was scarce, posses and sheriffs were still chasing us and we didn't even have anything to show for it. We'd have been captured or killed soon enough. We had a good run, Lom, better than most. We had a lot of fun in our time. Now I guess it's time to pay for it."

"The Kid wouldn't want you to pay this price."

"Yeah, well, turns out he doesn't get to be choosy. You really haven't heard anything?"

"No, not a thing."

"Huh."

Heyes tried to think what that might mean. He'd assumed the Kid would have contacted Lom as soon as he heard. He was worried.

Lom could see his concern. "If anything had happened to him it would have been in the paper. I'm sure he's fine."

"Then why hasn't he contacted you?"

There was nothing Lom could say. He didn't know. The Kid must know what had happened, it was in all the papers.

"I'll find him Heyes, don't worry. But…" he trailed off. He didn't know how to tell him.

"But what?"

"Heyes, I was able to come and see you today because I lied to the warden, said I needed to see you about a case. He made it very clear I won't be able to do that again."

"Oh."

Lom sighed. "Look, if there's anything you should know, I'll try and figure out a way to let you know, okay? If you don't hear anything from me, then you'll know he's fine."

"Okay, Lom. Thanks."

"Anything you want me to tell him?"

Heyes looked down at his dirty hands. "I'm hoping he can live his life and be happy. I… I don't want him to think of me like this, to know what this place is like. I'd like him to remember me like I was."

He looked reflective for a moment. "Once he gets away from Mary, I'd like to think of him getting married. Maybe one day bouncing a couple of towheaded kids on his knee, growing old and happy surrounded by his family. It'll be something, if it could happen for one us."

The guard knocked on the door.

"That's the sign for me to leave. I've got to go." Lom looked at his friend, hating that he had to leave him like that. "I'm sorry, Heyes."

Heyes offered him a watery smile. "You were going to have to leave some time. Didn't imagine you were gonna stay here!"

Lom held out a hand and, at the last moment, pulled him into a hug. "Take care of yourself, Heyes."


	6. Chapter 6

At about the same time Lom Trevors was saying goodbye to Hannibal Heyes, Kid Curry was standing at the bar in Silvervale, wondering when Heyes would be coming back.

It had been six weeks since Heyes had gone to San Francisco and he hadn't heard from him at all. Curry had stuck by his resolution to wait for Heyes to contact him - Heyes had been the one to leave after all - but he was very glad that he only had two more weeks to wait to see his cousin again. He had missed him more than he would admit, even to himself.

He sipped his drink, longing for some company. Ben and Micky were sitting together in the corner, but he guessed he wouldn't be welcome. He still found himself shunned by everyone around him, but felt too restless to spend the evening with Mary and listen to her happy chatter about the upcoming wedding.

After a few minutes of standing alone and ignored, he saw a discarded newspaper abandoned on a table and started to flick through its pages. He quickly closed it and pushed it aside in irritation. Unlike Heyes, he'd never picked up the habit of reading the newspapers, unless it was the 'Help Wanted' section. Heyes always kept him informed of anything he needed to know, andhe assumed that if there was anything in the paper about his partner, then somebody would tell him.

Curry did glance at the headlines occasionally nowadays, just to be sure. He had no idea that Heyes' moment in the spotlight had been and gone. Heyes wasn't in the newspaper anymore because the story was over. He was old news.

Curry wasn't much of a reader generally, although he'd liked it on those quiet nights when Heyes had picked up whatever book he was reading and started to read it aloud. Heyes had a gift for reading aloud, he made anything sound interesting. Sometimes, the Kid would pick up the book Heyes had been reading and try to read from where he left off, but it wasn't the same. He couldn't picture the story in his head the same way he did when Heyes read it and brought the characters to life.

He remembered one time when Heyes had been reading a newspaper biography of Isambard Kingdom Brunel; Curry had been fascinated by the things he'd done, as Heyes described railways and tunnels and steamships... Later, when Curry had picked up the article to read it for himself, the whole story seemed as dry as dust and he'd thrown it aside in boredom.

He was feeling low. He still loved Mary, of course he did. But as the date of their upcoming wedding loomed closer, he was beginning to feel anxious; it had all happened so quickly. Despite their last argument, Curry knew he'd feel happier when he could talk to Heyes about it.

* * *

Curry was just about to take another drink when he was surprised to see two familiar faces at the end of the bar, talking earnestly to Ben and Queenie.

"Guys?" He was careful not to use their names. "What are you doing here? Hey, it's great to see you! Let me buy you a drink!"

He had never before been so happy to see his two old gang members. Wheat and Kyle had never been his idea of the perfect drinking companions, but he was so desperate for company and so thankful to see a couple of familiar faces.

It took him a minute to see that they didn't share his enthusiasm. They looked at him for a long minute, and then finished their drinks and turned to leave.

He couldn't believe it! He was being cut by those two?

He moved forward and laid a hand on Wheat's arm. "Hey!"

Before he had time to react, Wheat had raised a fist and punched him in the jaw. The surprise of it gave it more force and he fell back to the floor.

He lifted his hand to his mouth and felt blood there. "What the hell was that for?"

"That's not even half of what you deserve, ya dirty double crosser!" Wheat stood over him, his fists still clenched.

"Yeah," added Kyle, "if there was any justice in this world, you'd swing for what you done!"

Kyle spat and it would have struck him if he hadn't quickly moved his head.

Curry's jaw fell open in shock. "What did I do?"

There weren't many people in the saloon that night, but he noticed that everyone was watching silently. He felt their sympathies were with Wheat and Kyle, not for himself.

"You know what you did, you filthy dog! I'd never've believed you could do that to Heyes!"

As soon as Wheat mentioned Heyes' name, Curry jumped up and grabbed his wrist.

"Heyes? What d'you mean? Have you heard from him?"

Wheat widened his eyes. "Heard from him? How the hell would we have heard from him, after what you did?"

Curry was clearly confused. "I don't know what you're talking about… what did he say I'd done? When did you see him?"

Wheat and Kyle exchanged a confused glance.

"Ain't nobody SEEN him!"

Wheat reached into his deep jacket pocket and brought out three crumpled sheets that Curry recognized as the front pages of the newspaper that Heyes would read when they lived in Devil's Hole.

He thrust them into the Kid's hands. "We're talkin' about this!"

Bemused, Curry looked down and opened up the first one. The headline seemed to jump off the page.

 _'Hannibal Heyes Arrested At Last!'_

He grabbed the bar for support as he tried to make sense of what he was reading.

He read the first line:

 _'Hannibal Heyes was finally taken into custody yesterday, in the small Colorado town of Silvervale...'_

He looked at the top of the page for the date. It was the day after Heyes left the ranch.

The day they'd argued.

The day that Heyes had said, 'Love ya, Kid'. Had he suspected something? Kid remembered his own sense of unease.

With shaking hands, he turned to the next page.

 _'Hannibal Heyes Sentenced to Twenty Years!'_

He felt bile rise in his throat. He laid that page aside and opened the last one.

 _'Kid Curry Granted Amnesty!'_

 _'After the revelations from the trial of Hannibal Heyes, when Heyes took responsibility for all crimes attributed to him and Jedediah "Kid" Curry, the governor has granted Curry a full amnesty...'_

Curry stared at the papers in horror for a few minutes, then threw them aside and ran for the door. Once outside, he vomited in the street until he could do nothing but retch.

He felt hands on his shoulders as someone led him back into the saloon and sat him in a chair.

He was surprised to see that it was Bill, who was examining him curiously. Bill turned to the bartender.

"Can we get a shot of whiskey?"

A glass was laid in front of him and he drank it quickly.

Bill stared at him in disbelief. "You didn't know?"

"No." Kid reached for the papers again and tried to make sense of it all. "I thought he was in San Francisco…"

Wheat exchanged a glance with Kyle, who looked equally baffled. "Why would you think Heyes was in San Francisco?"

"He told me he was going to visit Soapy for two months. I was waitin' for him to come back."

Wheat gestured for the Ben to give him the bottle of whiskey. "Well, you'll be waitin' a while. He ain't comin' back for another twenty years!"

Curry felt the blood drain from his face and the room started to spin around him.

"Steady there." Bill lowered the Kid's head towards his knees. "Sit like that for a moment. It'll pass."

Curry waited for the world to stop spinning and then he thought of another question. "Does Mary know?"

Now everyone was watching Bill.

"She knows."

Curry tried to understand. He may not agree with her keeping this from him, but she probably didn't want him to be hurt.

"When did she know?"

"She's known from the beginning. Told the ranch hands that she'd fire 'em if anyone spoke to you about it, though she wrapped it up a little nicer than that."

Curry felt his mouth go dry. He felt like he'd been punched in the stomach.

"But the people in town? No-one said anything."

Queenie came over with a bottle, refilled his glass and looked closely into his face. "You really don't know anything, do you?"

Seeing his look, she shook her head.

"No-one here said anything because we all thought you knew. She told Curly you turned Heyes in. The day he left the ranch, Hannibal Heyes rode down to the train station where a group of armed guards were waiting for him. The next day, the future Mrs. Curry made a deposit into the bank of ten thousand dollars."

At his blank look, Micky moved forward. "The bounty on Hannibal Heyes."

"No..." Curry couldn't take it in. He knew Mary didn't like Heyes, but this? He didn't believe it. "No, you're wrong. She wouldn't have done that."

Queenie sat beside him and poured out another glass of whiskey for herself. "Joe down at the telegraph office said that two days before the arrest, she sent a telegraph to the governor. It was two words - 'Friday train'."

Mary couldn't have done that. She loved him, she couldn't do that to him and his cousin, she must know what Heyes meant to him.

And then he realized.

That was why she'd done it.

She knew exactly what Heyes meant to him, and she knew what the Kid meant to his cousin. There was only one impediment standing between her and Kid Curry, and that was Hannibal Heyes. Heyes goes to jail, and Mary becomes ten thousand dollars richer and gets an amnesty for the man she wants to marry. He wondered how she had arranged it.

He moved back to the floor and read the newspaper articles again.

 _'...taken into custody while trying to leave town…'_

 _'Heyes confessed that Kid Curry was only a bystander during all of the robberies…'_

 _'...granted Kid Curry a full amnesty…'_

He moaned and ran his fingers through his hair. He reached forward and drank the whiskey Queenie had poured. How could Mary do this to him? To them? How could he be with her, how could he touch her ever again knowing what she'd done...

Everyone was quiet. He raised his head and looked around the room.

"You all believed I did this? That I would do that to him?"

Micky shrugged. "You didn't seem that close, him bunking with us and you up in the house with Mrs. Adams. You didn't seem to miss him - you never mentioned him again. An' you seemed real happy with her. Plus, you got the reward and the amnesty. We figured you and her worked this out together."

He looked at his former friends. "Wheat? Kyle? You thought I could do this to him?"

Kyle looked at the ground. "We knew you wanted that amnesty real bad."

Wheat nodded. "And you got yourself a rich young widow into the bargain. Figured you didn't need Heyes anymore."

An idea suddenly struck him with such intensity that he almost recoiled.

"He couldn't have believed it though... He couldn't think that I'd choose her over him? That I'd turn him in for an easy life? He must have known that I couldn't be happy with him in jail!" Nobody agreed with him and he felt sick at the thought of it.

He surprised them all by rising suddenly. "I have to get back." Turning once more to Wheat and Kyle, he said "I would never have done that to him. You have to believe me."

Wheat still looked uncertain, but Kyle nodded. "If you say so, Kid, it's good enough fer me."

Bill looked around the silent saloon. While the Kid's shock and revulsion seemed genuine enough, there were still a few that weren't sure he was entirely guiltless.

"I'll go with you, make sure you get home alright."

Queenie nodded at him, and the bar started to return to life again.

* * *

They were silent as they rode, but Curry's mind whirled endlessly in the same circles. Why had she done that to Heyes? Was it really just jealousy?

Kid Curry felt sick when he thought about his cousin condemned to twenty years in prison. They'd enough conversations over the years to know how bad prisons could be and Curry knew how much Heyes feared being locked away. Those nights, back at the orphanage. Curry didn't mind so much since he was still young enough to fall asleep anywhere, but Heyes had hated it.

And now he was locked away for twenty years.

Twenty years.

He thought that Heyes would be an old man when he got out, before he realized how small the odds were that Heyes would ever survive that long.

Curry had never heard of anyone surviving twenty years in prison.

He couldn't imagine what it would be like to never see his cousin again.

Never seeing that impish grin and dreading whatever hairbrained plan would follow it. Never again wishing that Heyes would just shut up for five whole minutes and let them ride in peace. Never again galloping side by side across the plains as if the devil was at their heels.

Could he visit him? Break him out? This was Heyes - he must have figured out a way to escape by now. Maybe he already had and was even now flying across fields to come home again.

Home.

With Mary.

His Mary, the woman he loved, who betrayed him and sold his cousin for ten thousand dollars.

He had to know why she'd done it, as if there could be something, anything that could excuse what she did...

He'd listen to her, he wouldn't judge her yet. Maybe she was being blackmailed by someone…

He was sure she loved him, of that he had no doubt. Until this moment, he thought that he loved her with every fiber of his being, but now?

He loved his cousin, his only protector since childhood. The only family he had left. Heyes had been father, mother, brother and friend to him since they were children. Heyes had stolen so they could eat, he had watched over him when he was sick, and when he wasn't much older himself, he had wiped away the younger boy's tears and told him that everything would be alright, because he was there to look after him...

There was no-one in the world he owed more to than Heyes.

He didn't even notice when they arrived at the house.

Bill came up beside him. "Mr. Curry, sir? We're here."

Curry nodded and slid off his horse. Bill took the reins from his hands.

"I'll take care of the horses."

He nodded again and walked inside.

* * *

It looked like a book illustration of domestic bliss.

There she sat, her golden hair shining in the candlelight, as she bent over her sewing. As he entered the room, she looked up at him and smiled.

The smile died on her face when she saw his expression. "My darling, what's wrong?"

"I went to the saloon. I met a couple of old friends there. They told me what happened to Heyes."

She moved her eyes away from him. "Oh?"

"Yes. And they told me what you did. How could you do that to him?"

She seemed to realize that she couldn't bluff her way out of this.

"He wanted to split us up, wanted you to leave me! I couldn't stand by and let him do that. I love you and you love me! Besides, you could have had the amnesty years ago if it wasn't for him. He's the one they wanted when they posted all those rewards. He's the one that made them look like fools, time after time. They didn't care about you."

"Why would you think that? Heyes never hurt a living soul in his whole life! I've killed people!"

"In self-defense and protecting yourself! And anyway, no one cares about those people. They were just nobodies... they weren't anyone important."

He was speechless for a moment, his breath taken away by the callousness of her comment. He looked at her as if she was a stranger. There was no softness about her now, no tenderness.

He had hated killing people. She was right, it had been necessary, but that didn't mean that he didn't think about it all the time with regret.

He had taken human lives; they were people. They had mothers and fathers, perhaps brothers and sisters and lovers, people who would miss them and be sorry they were gone. People who would weep for them. They weren't just human detritus to be forgotten. They had as much right to live as he did and he saw their faces in his mind every day.

To say they weren't important seemed shockingly callous.

She still hadn't answered his question. "Mary, how do you know all this? How did you arrange for me to get the amnesty?"

She lifted his chin and met his eyes. "Governor Hamilton is my cousin."

Kid Curry gasped and sank down into a seat.

"I told him that we wanted to get married and have a family. He told me there was no way anyone would let him give an amnesty to Hannibal Heyes, but no-one would mind if he gave one to you, especially if everyone thought you turned him in!"

"I would never have betrayed Heyes, you know that!"

"Well, apparently, I'm in the minority. Everyone else believed it easily enough!"

"Because you told them!"

"Yes! For us, so that we could get married and have a family!"

"I never wanted a family that didn't include Heyes. He IS my family."

She stood up angrily. "Well, you couldn't have both! I did this for you, Jedediah Curry, so that you could have your freedom, and I think you should take a moment to see how much I've done for you!" She stormed out of the room in a flood of tears.

He stared into the embers of the fire and thought about everything that had happened.

He'd loved this woman and planned to marry her. When he compromised her virtue, it had been with the understanding that he would marry her when the opportunity came. Now he had that opportunity, because of what she and Heyes had done. But now he knew her part in it, he was revolted by her. He couldn't imagine even touching her hand again.


	7. Chapter 7

Despite the strict policies and harsh conditions, life in the prison was not as bad as it might have been. The same strict rules that kept the prisoners in check also applied to the guards. The guards were allowed to use necessary force to accomplish the day to day running of the prison, but anything beyond that was subject to inquiry.

As long as the prisoners stayed in line, didn't speak and got on with their work, they would not be punished.

That wasn't to say they were easy on the prisoners. Heyes experienced a fair number of punishments at the beginning, mainly because he couldn't seem to remember to keep his mouth shut. Initially, he was treated to a few beatings and lashings, but when the guards decided that wasn't working, he was thrown into the hole.

It was his greatest fear realized.

He sat alone and silent in complete darkness. He didn't know how long he was there. It might have only been an hour or it might have been a week for all he knew. It seemed like forever. His mind flew back to the orphanage and those childhood nights of terror, locked away in the dark.

He made a resolution that he would never give them a reason to put him back in there again.

He was thrown back in two more times.

The last time, he was left in there for days, he could tell by the stubble on his face. He started to believe he'd never come out again, they'd never come to free him. He'd be in there forever and would die there, in the dark like an animal.

He tried to control his rising panic.

His mind took him back to a time before the orphanage, to a dark place of screaming and burning and paralyzing fear.

Finally, when the fear had risen to a point beyond reason, he could no longer control his terror. He flew at the door, beating against it with his fists and tearing at it until his fingernails tore off, broken and bloody. He screamed until the breath left his body and he collapsed in a heap on the cold floor. He was almost catatonic when they came to get him out.

After that, silence seemed easier. It became natural for him - he had no sounds left to make. He didn't even call out in his dreams anymore, or make a sound when he was startled. He was as soundless as a mute.

* * *

After his talk with Mary, Kid Curry walked into their bedroom and started to pack his things. She sat up and watched him from the bed.

"Are you leaving me?"

He looked at her, beautiful in the lamplight. Every time he looked at Mary, he could remember how much he had loved her, how much he had ached to have a future with her.

He wished he could just tell her that he was leaving her, but he couldn't seem to say the words; he was afraid of the depth of his anger and what he might say or do in his temper. He was trying to keep himself under control and he knew he couldn't talk to her yet.

"I can't stay here… I have to get away."

She nodded. She saw that he wasn't taking everything, so he had to come back. There was still hope for them; it might not be ruined, even now.

"Where will you go?"

"I don't know." So much had happened so quickly. He could feel the weight of the love he'd had for her, crashing over him and crushing him. "I need to clear my head and get things straight. I can't think right now."

"Alright."

She climbed out of the bed and started to help him pack.

"Will you promise me one thing?"

His anger flared up again. He wanted to ask her why she thought he should promise her anything, why he should even honor a promise to her after everything she'd done.

He met her deep blue gaze and he could still see the love she had for him. It was the hardest thing to believe. That she could have done this hateful, horrible thing, because she loved him.

"What?"

"Promise me that whatever you decide, you'll come back and tell me to my face."

Curry nodded. He knew he couldn't stay, but he wouldn't leave her without a word, not after everything they'd been to each other.

"Yes, alright. I promise."

"Are you taking the train?"

"No. I'll ride."

"It's cold to be riding all day and it's much too cold to be sleeping outside."

"We've camped out in colder weather than this."

'We've camped out'. Him and Heyes. It always came back to Heyes. She tried not to let him see how much it bothered her.

Moving over to her dresser, she unlocked a small box and handed him some banknotes.

"Take it, please. You can think just as well in a hotel without catching your death of cold."

He thought of where it came from and recoiled. He pushed the money away.

"I have some money of my own. I'll use that."

He picked up his bag and they stared at each other for a long moment. They'd never parted before without a kiss, but they were past kissing. It would have been wrong. He was suddenly unsure of himself.

She seemed to know what to do, as she so often did. She walked out of the bedroom and took his coat from the hook.

"Travel safely. I'll be waiting for you."

With that, she walked over to the front door and threw it open. He recognized that she was trying to make this easier for him.

"I will come back."

"I know. You promised."

* * *

It was cold outside, but the moon shone brightly overhead. He saddled his horse and started to ride away, looking up at the vista of stars canopied above his head.

It had been a long time since he had been out this late, looking at the stars. He realized that he'd missed it, the beauty and quietude of a night like this. Fresh on the heels of that thought, the thought that Heyes would have loved it... and the realization that he would probably never see this again.

He felt a sob rise up in him. How could he have lost so much in one night? His cousin and the woman he loved, his past and his future, all taken by that one horrible act of betrayal.

He spurred his horse and rode on.

He rode each day for as long as he could, sometimes staying in hotels and sleeping outside when it wasn't too cold. He was glad that it had been such a mild winter, he needed the time alone.

He wasn't sure where he was going until he arrived in Porterville a few days later. He went straight to the sheriff's office; Lom was sitting at his desk, frowning at some papers in front of him.

"Hello Lom."

Lom started and looked up. He offered something that wasn't quite a smile.

"Kid. You got my telegram? " The coolness of the greeting didn't escape him.

Kid looked surprised. "No. What telegram?"

"Governor said you were in Silvervale."

"I was."

Now it was Lom's turn to be surprised. "Then you should have got it on Wednesday. I told you I was coming to see you, but there was an emergency. I couldn't get away any earlier."

"I wasn't home. I left a few days ago. I just found out about Heyes."

Lom looked at him in disbelief.

Curry flushed. "You know I don't read the papers and no-one said anything. They all thought I knew. They thought I set him up! As if I'd do that to Heyes!"

Lom gestured to the chair in front of him. "Coffee?"

"Yes, thanks."

"How did you find out?"

"I met Wheat and Kyle. Wheat punched me, can you believe it? Seems a lot of stuff has happened and I was the only one that didn't know!"

Lom said nothing, just watched him thoughtfully. When he found out Kid Curry was still in Silvervale, he wondered what part the Kid had played in all of this.

"How much do you know, Lom?"

"I was laid up for a few weeks, got shot in the leg. I didn't know anything until a few weeks after it happened. When I could travel again, I went to see him."

Kid moved forward eagerly. "You've seen him? How is he? Can I visit him?"

"No. Warden doesn't allow it. He believes that solitude and silent contemplation are good for the soul and the only way to force a man to repent for his sins. I got in because I'm a sheriff. I told him I needed to discuss a case with the prisoner."

The prisoner… that was Heyes, Curry thought. It made it real somehow, to hear him being talked about that way.

"Can he do that? Is that legal?"

"Yes. He can do whatever he wants as long as he's not actually torturing or killing anyone. It's a proven method of keeping prisoners, the warden was telling me all about it. There's a prison in New York - Auburn - that operates very successfully in a similar way. Inmates are to be 'buried from worldly concerns so they may contrate on their immortal souls' - his words."

Kid swallowed. "How is he, Lom?"

"He'd lost a bit of weight, but otherwise he didn't look too bad. The guards will beat a prisoner when they break the rules, but they didn't seem to be unnecessarily brutal. He's not allowed to speak, no-one is. He was already having a bit of trouble trying to find the words to tell me what had happened."

Curry couldn't even imagine it. Heyes, whose silver tongue had got them into and out of so many scrapes...

"What did he say?"

"He told me Mary set him up. Bought him a train ticket to San Francisco and asked him to give the two of you a little time together. Told me that the governor is her cousin, and he told Heyes that if he didn't take full responsibility for everything, they'd arrest you and sentence you to twenty years."

Lom saw the color drain from the Kid's face. "You didn't know?"

"Not about that. No."

Curry ran his fingers through his curly hair. "She says she did it because she loves me."

"And that makes it alright?"

"No! Of course not!" Kid Curry turned pleading eyes to his friend. "I didn't want any of this!"

"You let him go off on his own."

"Like I've done a million times before! You know how it was. We were startin' to get proddy with each other and needed a little time apart. I didn't think this time would be any different."

Lom nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess you couldn't have known."

"So, what happens now? What do I do?" He looked up at his friend helplessly. "Can we try for a pardon or do something to get him out?"

Lom sighed and leaned back in his chair. "No. He's guilty. Even if he hadn't already admitted it, it's not in any doubt. And he's in prison now, not some backwater jail. He's locked down tight. I'm sorry, Kid, there's nothing we can do. He was more concerned about you."

"Me?"

"He didn't want you to get trapped by Mary. He wants you to be happy and he doesn't want you to worry about him. Last thing he said to me was that he wants to think of you one day 'bouncing a couple of towheaded kids on your knee'."

Kid Curry groaned and buried his face in his hands. Lom took pity on him.

"C'mon Kid. Let's go and get very drunk."

* * *

Curry left Lom the next day. He knew he should go straight back and tell her it was over, but he was still so angry. Let her stew for a while longer. Hearing Lom talk about Heyes had only increased his fury at her treachery. He still needed a little longer to cool down before he faced her. He'd never hit a woman in his life and he wasn't about to start now - even if that woman was Mary.

It was late in the year, but it had been a mild winter and, as he'd told Mary, he and Heyes had camped out in worse. He spent two nights sleeping under the stars before he headed home again. Somehow, it seemed colder without his cousin.

When he arrived back at the ranch, it was just before noon. He felt the ranch hands watching him as he returned. She saw him from the kitchen window and opened the door.

As soon as he saw her, he realized afresh how desperately he wanted to get away from her and never see her again. Every time he saw her, he thought of Heyes, silent and shackled.

She reached to take his bag and he flinched away from her as their hands touched.

"I'm sorry. I can't do this. I can't act like nothin's wrong. I can't look at you without thinkin' about him, without remembering what you did."

Her lips tightened. She had worried about this, but she wasn't a woman to give up without a fight. She loved him and if she could just hold on to him, she felt sure that she could win him back again. She met his gaze and played her winning hand.

"I'm going to have your child."

He stared at her, aghast. There had always been that danger, but before it was a chance he was prepared to take because he loved her. Now he realized that he would be tied to her forever for the sake of their child. He wouldn't abandon his own child, especially not to the mercies of a woman like this.

She had won.

* * *

When Jedediah Curry and Mary Adams got married, it was not the carefree, happy wedding she had dreamed of. Her smile was forced as she walked down the aisle of the small church, and the groom looked like a man waiting for the executioner. There were a few people there, some to support the Kid, a few friends of Mary's, and the rest, curious onlookers.

There were still plenty of people that believed they had both been involved in Hannibal Heyes arrest - didn't this wedding prove their complicity? - and there was a lot of ill will directed towards the two of them.

When the preacher asked, "if anyone can show just cause why this couple cannot lawfully be joined together in matrimony, let them speak now or forever hold their peace", one onlooker shouted, "no, they deserve each other!", and a peel of scandalized laughter rippled through the church.

When told he could kiss the bride, Curry leaned forward and awkwardly brushed his lips on her forehead as if she were poison. Her lips were tight and her color high at this humiliation, but she said nothing. She had contrived this situation all by herself and there was no escaping it now.

She still had a few tricks up her sleeve. She wasn't about to give up yet.

* * *

During the long nights of his imprisonment, Hannibal Heyes thought about his cousin.

He trusted that Lom would have found a way to tell him if anything had happened to the Kid, so he had to believe he was alright. He hoped that his younger cousin had managed to free himself from the clutches of that woman and was trying to live his life and be happy.

But he couldn't help but wonder why the Kid hadn't tried to do anything when Heyes was first arrested. Heyes didn't think they would have given the Kid his amnesty if he wasn't going to marry Mary… so what did that mean?

When Heyes was first arrested, why didn't the Kid try to contact him? He knew the Kid couldn't go near the place himself, but couldn't he have sneaked in a message for him? And why he hadn't contacted Lom? Lom might have been able to exert some influence as a lawman and spoken for Heyes at his trial. Maybe he could even have got him a halfway decent lawyer that would have a least tried to get him a fair hearing and a more reasonable sentence.

Bill overheard the conversation in the barn, he would have told the Kid about it; they must have suspected that Heyes had been set up. The Kid was always clever about figuring out things like that.

Heyes remembered how he had scoffed at the idea that people from the poker game were being shot, but the Kid had been right. So he would have figured out that Mary had betrayed them. But if that was the case, then why would the Kid have stayed and agreed to marry her, as he must have if they were willing to give him the amnesty… Why would the Kid marry Mary once he found out what she had done?

Sometimes, in his darkest moments, he found himself wondering how much the Kid had loved Mary. Could he have been so much in love with her that he would… that he could…?

Heyes never let himself finish that thought. The Kid was his cousin and his partner, he would never betray Heyes.

Would he?


	8. Chapter 8

Mary Curry was starting to worry about her plan to win back Jedidiah.

He hadn't shown her any affection; most of the time he seemed to be trying to suppress his dislike of her.

He was very solicitous about her health, his concern for their child foremost in his mind. He would try to help her around the house, insisting that she rest and making sure he always lifted anything heavy for her. She loved the attention, but was afraid of what would happen when the expected child didn't appear.

Since his return from his visit to Lom, he slept every night in the small guest room beside the kitchen. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't woo him or trick him back into her bed, so there was no hope of trying to make her lie a reality. Even if she could have seduced him, she had reasons to believe that she couldn't conceive a child. She had been seriously involved with two men before Kid Curry (one of them he knew about and one of them he would never find out about), and she had never once shown the slightest sign of a pregnancy.

She had hoped that their proximity, coupled with her feminine charms, would be enough to make him fall in love with her again, but there was no sign that he was softening towards her.

She was going to have to do something soon. She had convinced him to marry her because she was bearing his child, but three months had passed since their wedding. Soon she would have to explain why she wasn't gaining weight. He wasn't a fool; he was going to suspect something, but she'd been hoping that she could seduce him back to her side before that. So far, she hadn't been able to.

She thought about how she could win back his love and explain away the child.

That evening, she told Jed that she was feeling a little sick. He was worried and fussed around her as much as she could have hoped. She gazed at him with her deep blue eyes filled with tears.

"Jed, I'm so scared! I'm sorry, I know things haven't been good between us, but would you please sleep in my bed tonight? For the sake of our child! I'm so scared that I'm going to be ill! It would make me feel so much better if you were beside me!"

He looked at her, thoughtfully. She did seem scared and upset, and it was his child she was carrying.

"Alright. I'm sure everything's goin' to be fine though."

She smiled a tremulous smile, although inwardly she was exultant. She felt less optimistic that night when he climbed on top of the blankets, fully dressed, and turned away from her.

* * *

As Curry slept beside her, Mary quietly left the bed and retrieved a small jar from the kitchen. Earlier that day, she had killed a chicken and saved some of the blood.

Taking the jar of blood, she poured a small amount onto her nightgown. She frowned, trying to estimate how much she would need and then poured on a little more. Walking quietly over to the bed, she poured more onto the sheet, grimacing at the unpleasant smell and feel of it as her gown stuck to her. She was just about to return to the kitchen when she heard Jed stir.

She couldn't believe it. He'd always been a heavy sleeper and she'd counted on him to remain sleeping while she finished what she was doing. Hurriedly, she closed the jar and pushed it under the bed. In her haste, she lost her grip and it rolled off out of reach. She swore under her breath and jumped as Kid suddenly sat up.

"What's wrong?"

It took her a minute to try to look sick and unhappy rather than guilty. In that minute, he looked at the sheets and her soiled nightgown and his eyes widened.

"My God, are you alright? What happened?"

She turned to him with tears in her eyes. "I lost the baby, Jed. I'm so sorry!"

Instantly overwhelmed with regret, he took her in his arms and held her as she cried.

* * *

In the morning, she argued that they didn't need to call out a doctor. He insisted; he was worried about her, it didn't seem right that the doctor shouldn't at least check her over. She was so happy about his concern for her that she agreed to go and see Doctor Brown. She figured she could make something up when she got there.

Solicitously, he walked inside with her, giving her no chance to escape.

He gently held her shoulders as he explained what had happened to the doctor.

"Thank you, Mr. Curry. If you wouldn't mind stepping outside, I'll examine her now. Unless she'd prefer you to stay?"

"No!" She startled them both with the force of her answer. She smiled her tremulous smile again. "I'm sorry. I just think it might be better for you to get a little air." She took his hand. "I know this is hard on both of us."

He surprised himself by squeezing her hand tenderly before walking out of the office. She tried not to show her triumph and delight. It was the first time he'd shown her any affection since he'd found out about Heyes.

A little while later, Mary Curry joined her husband outside on the porch. Taking his hand, as if for support, she looked up at him trustingly.

"He said I need to rest for a few weeks. Let's go home, Jed."

* * *

Doc Brown swore and threw one of his instruments across the room, where it hit the wall with a clatter. His wife, coming in just at that moment, stared at him in surprise.

"Thomas! Whatever is the matter?"

He groaned. "There are times when I hate my job."

"What happened?"

He knew that she wouldn't repeat anything he told her.

"I've just examined the new Mrs. Curry after a miscarriage."

"Oh! That poor couple!" Like most people, she didn't like the former Mary Adams, but she felt sorry for her. She knew the pain of losing a child.

"My dear, I would bet our house that she had never been pregnant in her life." At his wife's scandalized look, he continued, "She didn't seem to know the first thing about being pregnant. Everything she told me was wrong - symptoms, dates, everything - and I can honestly say that I don't think I've ever seen her looking healthier."

"But why would she..."

"It seems that poor Mr. Curry has been once again duped. He was attentive to her every whim and desperately sad for them both."

Mrs. Brown sat down as she understood.

"Oh, that poor, poor boy!"

* * *

Although the guards largely ignored Heyes now, it didn't mean that he didn't have other problems. He and the Kid had made a lot of enemies in their time, some as criminals and some when they were trying to go straight; more than a few of those people were incarcerated in the same prison.

He had been there five months when the first attack happened.

An old acquaintance from a rival gang decided that since he now had very little left to lose, he would settle up with Hannibal Heyes once and for all.

He approached Heyes while they were working in the quarry. Heyes wasn't sure which job he hated most, breaking the rocks or hauling them back and forth. He was in the midst of transporting a load when someone bumped into him. At first, he thought that was all it was, until he felt a sharp stabbing pain just below his breastbone. He saw the other man pull away and felt a fleeting moment of recognition before his vision clouded and he sank to the ground.

He woke up the next day in the medical wing, with a thick bandage around his chest.

The doctor came over to him when he saw his patient's eyes open. "Welcome back, Heyes. How are you feeling?"

"Okay."

He knew Doctor MacTavish wouldn't want to hear his complaints, but he felt weak as a kitten and there was a pain in his chest whenever he took a breath.

"Good. Do you remember what happened?"

"Stabbed." He'd grown used to keeping his answers short.

"Do you know why?"

"Knew him before. Doesn't like me."

"So it seems. Well, luckily, he didn't do any real damage. You'll be sore for a while and you may feel a little weak. You lost a lot of blood. But we've patched you up and you should be back to work in a few weeks."

Heyes said nothing to that. If there was a bright side to this, it would be that for a few weeks at least he didn't have to work at the quarry. He thought wryly that he never thought that he'd be grateful for being stabbed.

After a few more days that were spent mainly sleeping - the doctor was right, he felt incredibly weak - he was released from the medical wing and returned to his cell. He was to remain there during the day and the guards would bring him food and water when it was time to eat.

He lay on his bunk and longed for good book - A Tale of Two Cities, perhaps, or even better, Les Miserables. He'd found a translation of it a few years ago and loved it. He'd much rather read about the long prison term served by Jean Valjean than think about his own.

The characters in those books survived prison sentences almost as long as his own, Doctor Manette for eighteen and nineteen years for Jean Valjean. He allowed himself a small smile as he considered that unlike either of them, he had at least earned his sentence and enjoyed the good times while they lasted.

He'd never really been a religious man, but after two days he asked one of the guards for a Bible to read. At least, he thought, it would take him a while to finish it.

* * *

Heyes would not have believed that he could ever have adjusted to life in prison. He had such a horror of it all his life that he was surprised when he realized that a year had passed.

He thought his friends would not have known him. He was thinner than before, but the constant hard work had served to add muscles to his wiry frame. He smiled when he considered that after spending his whole life trying to avoid back breaking labor, it was now the only work he was doing.

Ironically, he felt he was actually fitter now than he had been before. Unfortunately, it didn't help him at all when the next attack occurred.

They'd caught the members of an old gang that Heyes had briefly ridden with before going to Devil's Hole. He hadn't liked their methods or their brutality. They hadn't liked him leaving and resented his later success. They also bore him a grudge for robbing a few banks they had planned to take. There was always bad blood between the rival gangs.

The leader, Jack Nichols, was one of the captured men and had been given a life sentence. He was not intending to patiently serve his time. When he saw Heyes, he decided that he would go out with a bang, righting an old wrong. His men were behind him the whole way.

One night, as Heyes was walking back to his cell with his dinner tray, he felt a pair of hands grab him from behind. He was swiftly pulled into a quiet corridor where they proceeded to administer their revenge, a beating that they hoped he would never recover from.

They were close to killing him when one of the guards, alerted by a noise, went to investigate and sounded an alarm. The men were pulled away from their quarry and beaten in turn by the guards, while the bloody body of Hannibal Heyes was once again taken to the hospital wing.

* * *

He groaned as came awake. He seemed to be covered in bandages and splints - the pain was unimaginable.

"Are you with us, Heyes?" Doctor Mactavish pulled up the eyelids with his thumb and gazed into the pupils. Heyes squinted against the light and tried to pull away.

"Heyes!"

He winced as the sound penetrated the thick fog of his brain and tried to make sense of what was happening to him. He felt a slight sting on his cheek as the doctor slapped him awake.

He tried to focus.

"D'tor," he slurred, trying to get his mouth to cooperate with his brain. It felt swollen and his head felt fuzzy.

"Do you remember what happened, Heyes?"

Heyes tried to think. He shook his head, then regretted it as the movement sent pain shooting through his head. His vision blacked and he passed out again.

* * *

The next time he woke up, it was to overwhelming nausea. He had just enough time to lean over the bed before he vomited onto the floor, and then, once again, he lost consciousness.

On the third attempt, he was finally in his right mind and coherent.

It was late. There was little to no light coming in through the barred windows and the only other light was a small lamp burning at the end of the room. A guard sat snoozing at the desk.

Heyes was in pain.

He didn't think he had ever hurt so much, every inch of him felt agonizing. He tried to assess the state of his body.

His left wrist was wrapped with a splint and his arm was in a sling. His shoulder felt sore and he assumed it had been dislocated. His ribs were wrapped and, from the pain whenever he moved or tried to take a breath, one or more of them had been broken. He wasn't sure what had happened to his leg, but it was also immobilized in a splint. He vaguely remembered waking up in here before - he guessed he'd been in here for a few days - so he thought he might have suffered some kind of a head wound. He reached up with his good hand and felt a shaved spot on the back of his head with a few stitches.

He grimaced and reflected that it was a good thing it didn't matter what he looked like. With that in mind, he felt his face. It felt a little swollen and tender, especially his mouth and cheek, and his eye felt sore and heavy. He guessed it had been swollen shut and was only now beginning to heal.

He tried to ignore the pain and sleep, but now that he was awake, it wasn't so easy. He wanted to call to the sleeping guard, but his dry throat couldn't make a sound, and besides, it was hard for him to speak up anymore.

It was his lowest moment so far.

He was injured and in pain and he was all alone.

Always before, someone had been around when he was hurt, someone who would take care of him. Since he and the Kid had been partners, they had always been there for each other.

He wanted desperately to see the Kid, needed him there beside him, telling him that everything would be okay. He wanted to talk to his friend, to feel safe and protected again. He didn't want to be here, on his own and hurting without anyone to even give him a drink of water.

He lay that way all night, at his lowest ebb. He was still so tired, but couldn't sleep because of the pain. By the time the morning light started to filter through the windows, he had never been so miserable.

* * *

He heard a noise and found the doctor beside his bed. His thirst was so great at this point that, even conditioned as he now was, he had to speak first.

"W..water..."

The doctor nodded, and within moments he felt his head being lifted and a glass of warm stale water was held to his lips. He didn't care, it tasted wonderful to him and he started to drink greedily.

The doctor pulled it away. "Not too much at first, Heyes. You have to sip it." Seeing no response, he held the glass further away. "Will you sip it, Heyes?"

Heyes licked his cracked lips and nodded. When the water was returned, he made an effort to sip it slowly.

"Well Heyes, it seems you'll be with us for a little while this time. You have broken ribs, a broken wrist, a dislocated shoulder and a fractured kneecap, along with a nasty head wound. You've been in and out of consciousness for several days."

Heyes' eyes widened in shock. He'd had no idea that he'd been there for so long already.

"Are you in pain, Heyes?"

He nodded, his new conditioning already in place once again.

"How bad?"

Heyes swallowed. "Very."

"Very well, I'll get you some laudanum."

He was back in a few minutes with the promised painkiller, and Heyes was able to sleep once more.

* * *

This time, his healing was a long and painful process. He was in so much pain that boredom wasn't an issue. A Bible had been placed bedside his bed for him to read, but he could barely reach for it and his head hurt when he tried to concentrate on anything.

The laudanum made him feel sick and sleepy, so most of the time he just slept.

After a couple of weeks, the pain began to lessen and he started to feel better. The pain in his ribs was easing so he could at least sit up comfortably and could pass the time reading again.

The doctor was able to start to wean him off the laudanum, for which he was profoundly grateful. He hadn't taken large quantities of laudanum before and found it made him constantly sick and foggy.

On the fourth week, he was laying in his bed reading when he got a visit from the warden. Doctor Mactavish was by his side.

Heyes closed the Bible.

"I am sorry to be the reason that you stop reading such fine words, Heyes. God has put you here so that you can reflect upon your sins and be redeemed!"

Heyes reflected that Jack Nichols had put him there, but decided not to mention that the reason he was here was revenge, not redemption.

He waited to see what why the warden was there.

"Though I am impressed that you are passing your time so laudably, Doctor MacTavish tells me that you will not be fit for physical labor for a few more weeks. The devil makes work for idle hands, Heyes, and a man needs an occupation so that he may contribute to society! We are a society here and everyone must work!"

Heyes wondered where this was going.

"I have been informed that you are an educated man and that in your previous life as a criminal you displayed some aptitude for numbers. We try to be a self-sustaining community here, and to that end we require someone with mathematical ability to keep the accounts. Our previous bookkeeper is no longer with us and I think that you would be perfectly suited to the job. Doctor MacTavish tells me that he sees no medical reason why you could not start immediately and work from your hospital bed. What do you say, man? Think you could do it?"

Heyes could hardly believe his luck. "Yes, sir."

"Have you had any previous experience with keeping accounts?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good! We'll start you on it tomorrow. I'll be checking your work periodically, just to make sure that you're doing everything correctly. Now I will leave you to get back to your reading. Redemption, Heyes! You can still be saved!"


	9. Chapter 9

Heyes liked working on the accounts. It was easier and it gave him something to think about, something to exercise his mind. He worked alone, in a little office away from the main building, and he liked that.

The last attack had left him feeling vulnerable. He couldn't defend himself in this place. He'd never really worried before. He was reasonably adept with a gun - nowhere near Kid's level, but more than passable - and he wasn't too shabby with his fists, either. When all else failed, the Kid was usually around to watch his back. He'd become used to it. But now he was on his own; he'd been attacked twice since he'd been here and he couldn't have prevented either attack.

He thought that if he avoided the other prisoners as much as possible, then he could at least minimise the danger. Now that he was working away from everybody else, he felt safer, more secure, and he was doing a job that he enjoyed.

He was almost happy.

He would have been surprised to know that at that point in their lives, he was actually more contented than his cousin.

* * *

Jed and Mary started to get back to a better relationship after the miscarriage, their grief uniting them. He hadn't returned to her bed, but they were starting to live more as a couple again. It wasn't exactly as it had been, but she thought they were getting closer.

He would never be able to forgive her for what she had done to Heyes, but he believed that the loss of their child was more than enough of a punishment. She had done a terrible thing, but she - indeed, both of them - had paid a terrible price. He had no wish to add anymore to her suffering. He could never love her again, but he could pity her.

Then he found the jar.

It was a few months later. A mouse found its way into the house and he was trying to catch it. It ran underneath her bed and as he lay down to chase it out, he saw the jar lying there on its side.

Curious, he reached for it and lifted it up. The smell when he opened the lid was disgusting, unmistakeable. It was obvious what had been inside it.

He recoiled and then frowned. Why would anyone need a jar full of blood?

He thought back to the last time he had seen blood in this room.

That night, that horrible night. The night he had believed them to be united in grief. All that blood...

So much blood, in fact, that he had wondered about it at the time. He'd seen gunshot wounds before - more than he'd ever wanted to - and generally when that much blood was lost, a person felt the effects pretty quickly. They'd become dizzy and lightheaded, and would be pale and listless for a few days.

But Mary hadn't.

Now he thought back, he remembered how pretty she had looked when they were riding into town, her eyes bright and her cheeks rosy. He had fussed around her, but he remembered her bright smile as she had jumped down from the wagon into his waiting arms. He had been filled with worry and desperate to try to lift the sadness that was crushing him like a weight. Thinking back, she hadn't even seemed sad.

Oh, she had produced tears and for several days she had clung to him for sympathy, but once their relationship was once again on a better footing, she seemed to have forgotten the whole incident. He still felt a sharp stab of misery every time he thought of it, of the child they had lost. He assumed that it was her natural resilience that stopped her from dwelling on it, as he did. But was it something else altogether? Was it perhaps that she had never had anything to mourn?

He thought back to the days before. He hadn't noticed any signs to indicate that she was with child. She hadn't been sick or acting differently, and now that he thought about it, she hadn't put on any weight, even though she would have been more than four months along...

He felt sick.

He went to the stables for his horse and within minutes was riding to the doctor's office.

* * *

The doctor smiled to see him. "Mr. Curry, how are you? Nothing wrong I hope?"

He didn't have time for pleasantries. "Was Mary ever pregnant?"

He saw the shock on the doctor's face at the bluntness of his question, but he saw something else as well.

"She wasn't, was she?"

"Mr. Curry, I can't answer that question. If you have questions about your wife's health, then you need to ask her, not me."

Curry took a moment and tried to think how Heyes would handle this.

"Alright then, you can answer this. Did she ever speak to you before about her pregnancy? To your knowledge, did she ever tell anyone else?"

"No, she didn't."

"Would you have expected her to be getting fatter after four months?"

The doctor's eyes met his. "Yes, I would."

"If a patient lost a lot of blood, would you expect them to be faint, pale, listless or tired?"

"Yes, I would."

Curry considered for a moment and wondered what Heyes would ask next.

As if he was changing the subject, Curry remarked, "Mary must have a strong constitution. I thought she looked very well when she came to see you last."

The doctor smiled a little. "Yes, indeed she did. She was the picture of health."

Curry gave the doctor a tight smile. "Thank you, Doctor."

"For what, Mr. Curry? I haven't done anything. It would have been most improper."

Curry gave a genuine smile this time. "Of course not. And please, call me Jed."

The doctor smiled back. "And you must call me Doc. Everyone does." He put out his hand. "Good luck, Jed."

* * *

When he returned to the house, Mary was preparing lunch. She looked up and smiled as he came in, and he smiled back at her.

"I'll be back in a moment."

He placed the jar on the table and waited for her to turn around.

Her bright smile disappeared when she saw it. She'd forgotten all about it.

"Heyes was always the smart one, always the one who did the thinkin'. Good thing too, because I don't have to tell you that I can be a real fool sometimes, 'specially where women are concerned. I guess it's no wonder you wanted him out of the way. But even I can figure out why a woman would pretend to lose a baby. There's only one explanation, isn't there? Because she was never pregnant in the first place. Isn't that right, Mary?"

She sat opposite him, glaring. "You were going to leave. Just like that, after making all those promises to me, after ruining my reputation!"

Jed smiled cruelly. "Mary, my darlin', you don't have a reputation to ruin!"

"So, what are you going to do? Are you leaving me then?"

He leveled an icy glare at her.

"You know, I've done a lot of bad things in my life. A lot. I've lied, stolen and killed. But I've regretted all those things and I'm tryin' to change and be a better person. You've ruined two lives that I know of - Heyes' and mine. Probably a lot more that I don't know about and you don't think you'll ever have to pay for it. I bet you ain't even sorry. But you've got yourself in a corner now, Mary. You married me, legally. If I left you now, you'd just go on as before until you could ruin someone else's life. Well, I'm not gonna let you do that. I'm stayin' with you so you can't hurt anyone else, an' if you leave me, you lose everything."

She stared at him in horror as she realized the truth of what he was saying.

* * *

The next attack on Hannibal Heyes happened eight months later and wasn't even directed at him. It was just his bad luck that he was collecting his dinner when a group of prisoners decided to make a break for freedom, under cover of a riot.

The guards filed in and pushed their way towards the convicts, who struck out at everyone around them in the hopes of creating enough panic and confusion to create a distraction.

Heyes and a number of other inmates were caught up in the riot and, as he was jostled into the forefront, he felt a blade cutting across his back and slipping between his ribs. His body was pushed forward and he tried to call out, but his voice was lost in the noise of the mob.

He tried to crawl away, but found he couldn't escape the crowd. He was not the only victim to be caught up in the melee. Men were crowding and pushing to get clear, some even slipping in his blood as they hurried. He managed to push himself back against a wall and stayed there as the fighting continued around him.

Heyes could see others - even less fortunate than himself - being trampled in the chaos. He saw one man scream as a larger prisoner planted a foot on the small of his back, and he knew that if the man lived, he would never walk again.

Heyes seemed to lie there for hours, his blood pooling around him. He didn't know when he'd lost consciousness, but he awoke once more in the hospital wing.

The doctor was standing over him. "Heyes, back with us again! This seems to be becoming a habit! How are you feeling?"

Heyes took a moment to consider. "Okay."

It seemed the only response. The doctor didn't want to hear his complaints and would only give him more laudanum, which would make him feel worse.

"Glad to hear it. You were one of the lucky ones. Seven others were killed in the riot and a dozen or so injured. The instigators have been properly dealt with."

He couldn't help it, he was glad to hear it. They'd ruthlessly hurt a number of innocent bystanders in their bid for freedom; he couldn't stop thinking of the man whose back had been crushed underfoot.

He had been lucky... very lucky. The blade hadn't penetrated far and there had been no damage to any organs. It was painful, and he was weak from blood loss and a slight infection, but he would soon recover.

As with the previous injury, he was released after a short period to his cell, where he stayed until he was fit to work.

He realized that he didn't want to be around people at all anymore - he just couldn't feel safe. He no longer wanted to go to the food hall, where he had spent so long waiting for help to arrive as the blood slowly drained from his body. He found himself skipping meals so that he could avoid going there. A guard would bring a lunch to his desk and he decided he could get by well enough with just one meal a day. He lost even more weight and didn't realize how emaciated he was becoming.

His days were now passing almost pleasantly. He would wake up and wash as well as he could with the small jug and bowl that was in his cell. He would wait for half an hour until the guard came to escort him to his small office, where he would work quietly until the guard returned that evening to walk him back to his cell. Then he would lay in his bunk and read if he was able, or simply sleep, if it was too dark for reading. Living this way enabled him to see no-one except for the guards.

The guards were used to seeing such antisocial behavior from the inmates. The enforced silence seemed to work on men's minds in an unhealthy way and they had seen a great many men develop odd behaviors while incarcerated this way. Prisoners who worked apart from the group seemed to have the most problems and they had seen stronger men than Hannibal Heyes break under the weight of a solitary, silent existence.

So great, in fact, were some of the problems, that the system had been criticized by many. Indeed, even Charles Dickens had described 'the slow and daily tampering with the mysteries of the brain to be immeasurably worse than any torture of the body'. All of the guards were aware that the suicide rate in prisons such as theirs was extremely high.

Heyes was generally well liked by the guards - he never gave them any trouble - and when they noticed how he tried to avoid seeing the other inmates, a few of them started to bring him a little extra food with his midday meal. Now and then, a guard would even slip him some bread while they were walking him to work and back.

He was still losing weight, but at least he wasn't starving.

* * *

He had just past the middle of his third year and the guard had come to collect him at the end of the day, when they realized something was wrong. Lifting his head, Heyes was aware of a scent on the breeze, something that shouldn't be there. He moved his eyes over the large prison building and he saw what it was. Smoke was starting to rise from the cell block closest to them.

Seconds later, he saw the flames; they seemed to suddenly gain in intensity and the prison bell began to ring. Suddenly, everywhere was a mess of noise and confusion as the guards hurried from place to place, rounding up prisoners, evacuating people from the building and trying to stop the fire from spreading.

Heyes stood with the guard assigned to him and they stared at the flames in shock.

As they watched, embers carried on the wind flew to the roof of the warden's house and the fire caught hold with shocking rapidity.

Sally Best, the warden's wife, was entertaining visitors, her dear friend and the wife of the governor, Martha Hamilton and her children. The children were playing upstairs when the two women, curious at the clanging of the bell, both ran outside to see what was happening. It took a moment for everyone to realize that the fire was now upon them.

"My children!" the warden's wife screamed in horror, as the blaze started to tear through the building. The governor's wife realized at the same moment, and the two women ran towards the building. Heyes' guard, with great speed, grabbed their arms and held them firmly back from the burning house.

They heard the children start to scream and Heyes ran inside.

The hallway was clear, but the rooms on the left side were burning furiously and the fire was starting to build on the right side. He quickly checked the two reception rooms and the kitchen, but they were empty.

He moved upstairs. The fire was worse here, having started on the roof. As he checked the first bedroom, he found a scarf and tied it over his mouth. The smoke was already in his lungs and making it difficult to breathe.

The next two rooms he checked were empty so he moved further along the hall. In a room at the end of the hallway, a door was open and as he got closer he could see four children huddled by a window, clutching a baby. Burning lathes from the roof blocked their exit along through the hall. Heyes ran back to one of the bedrooms and grabbed a heavy cane; he used it to push aside the burning timbers so he could get into the room.

The children were coughing and the youngest were crying, but they seemed unhurt, just scared. As he turned back to the door, more lathes fell into the hallway. It was far too dangerous to consider trying to take the children out that way.

His eyes moved back to the window. There was a tree standing about four feet away from the window, too far for the children to jump, but he could do it. He grabbed two sheets from the bed and tied them end to end. Wrapping them around his arm, he broke the glass, clearing the jagged edges from the frame. He made the jump to the tree and tied one end of the sheet to a sturdy branch. Clambering back into the room, he secured the other end to a bedpost, and then gestured to the oldest child.

The smoke was very thick now and he could only point to show her what she needed to do. She nodded bravely and, shaking only a little, climbed out of the window, using the sheet as a rope.

He could hear the people below calling to her, but he shook his head and pointed to the others. She nodded in understanding. He sent the younger child next, a little boy of about three or four, and the eldest girl reached for him as Heyes passed him out. Next was another girl of about six and then a boy of maybe seven or eight.

As he passed them out, a guard began to climb the tree to take the children from her. Heyes picked up the baby from the crib and moved to the window, just as a large beam fell from the roof. Flames rose up before him.

He saw the girl waiting in the tree, but she was completely cut off from him. He motioned to the door, a mass of flames with only a small gap to get through. She nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes as she climbed down towards the waiting guard.

There was barely enough room for him to squeeze through the door and he hugged the infant to his chest as he ran through the flaming upstairs hallway. Miraculously, the stairs were still standing and he ran down, not even noticing the flames that licked around his legs. He began to think that he might make it, that his luck might just hold... just one more minute and they would be safe...

The front of the house was a mass of flames, but he could see a gap through the blazing doorway. There was no other way out.

Pulling the baby closer to his body, he ducked his head as he sprinted for the door. He just cleared it as the house shifted with an enormous crack; the lintel above the door came loose from its position and fell, striking him in the shoulder and knocking him down. He felt the air rush pass him as he hit the floor, trying desperately to protect the child but knowing that it was no use. He felt a weight on his back and legs and heat all over his body.

That was the last thing he knew for a very long time.


	10. Chapter 10

It was Lom Trevors' day off, so he was not happy to be woken first thing by the sound of someone pounding on his front door. He was even less happy to see that it was his deputy.

"Wilkins, what do mean by waking me up like this?"

The man seemed out of breath. "Sorry, sir, but the papers just got in and… well, I thought you should see!"

He thrust a newspaper into Lom's hand. Puzzled, Lom looked down at the headline.

 _Fire strikes Wyoming Prison! Famous Outlaw Hannibal Heyes close to death after heroic rescue!_

He sank into a chair and began to read.

Lom sat for a long time wondering whether he should contact the Kid. He didn't really know anything, not yet, and a big part of him wanted to wait until they knew something concrete. But if it was reported in the paper, then the Kid would know about it sooner rather than later. He said he'd been much better about following the news since he heard about Heyes' arrest.

Lom made his decision and walked over to the telegraph office. Throwing his money down on the counter, he began to dictate - 'To Jedediah Curry, Silver Dollar Ranch, Silvervale, Colorado. Morning paper reports fire at prison. Heyes hurt. Will try to get further news.'

Then he began to dictate his second telegram.

* * *

Jed and Mary were in town getting supplies when the telegraph arrived. The boy, seeing him just across the street, yelled, "Mr. Curry! Mr. Curry!", and waved the telegraph in front of him as he ran.

The Kid snatched it from him with a muttered, "Thanks" and quickly scanned it. He felt suddenly weak, as if his knees were going to collapse beneath him.

Mary leaned over curiously.

"What is it?"

"Heyes. There was a fire, he's been hurt."

To his disgust, she gave a little sniff as she read the telegram. "I'm sure he's fine."

He couldn't look at her, knowing his revulsion would show too clearly on his face. "I have to go and see Lom, find out what's going on."

She bristled. "That's ridiculous! Lom said he's waiting for further news. You should wait until then. Why go all that way and find out it's a wasted journey?"

Kid Curry gritted his teeth. "Because he's my family."

* * *

Lom wasn't entirely surprised to see Kid Curry riding into town that night.

"Kid."

"Lom, any news?"

"You alright, Kid? You look kinda rough."

"Just… you know. Things. Worryin' 'bout Heyes. Stuff like that."

Lom wondered what could be encompassed in the phrase 'stuff like that', but didn't press. Instead, he walked into his office and poured out two cups of coffee, one of which he handed to the Kid.

"Thanks. Heard anything?"

"Not yet, still waiting. I have a friend in the sheriff's office near there. I asked him to go and find out."

They sat and drank for a few minutes.

"I was thinkin' I should go out there, maybe they'll let me see him."

"They won't. That old warden is as tough as nails. He's never gonna let you see Heyes."

"But if Heyes is hurt..."

"Doesn't matter. You think Heyes is the first wounded prisoner they've ever had? You think that warden is gonna change his policies about prison visitors because it's Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry? He isn't. Only thing to do is sit here and wait and drink more of this damn coffee."

Curry digested this for a few moments. "You think he's hurt bad?"

Lom stared into his coffee cup for a long moment. "Don't think they woulda printed it if he wasn't."

He looked back at his friend. "So… what did you mean? 'Stuff like that'? What's eating you, Kid?"

Curry paused for a moment and thought. He didn't like talking about personal stuff, especially when there was a lady involved. The only person he'd feel comfortable talking to was the one person he couldn't talk to. He sighed and leaned back against the chair.

"It's this." He made a gesture with his hand. "All of it. Heyes… Mary."

Lom leaned back as well. He'd wondered.

"Every day I think I hate her just a little bit more. Heyes would never have gone to jail if it wasn't for her."

"She did it for you." Lom kept his voice neutral.

"Yeah, that's what she said. And I'd like to believe it, but she never liked Heyes. She was always jealous of him. If she did it out of love, then how could she stand to take the money like that? Makes me sick to my stomach, thinking that our bills are paid for with the money she got from selling out Heyes. Should've been thirty pieces of silver!"

"But you married her anyway..."

"Yes. She told me… she said..."

Lom nodded. It wasn't hard to imagine what a woman like that would say to get a man to marry her.

"After we got married, well, she..." He wasn't ready to share that part of the story yet so he skipped over it. Lom could join the dots; he was a sheriff, for heaven's sake. "Anyway, it was too late by then, we were married. If I leave her, then my name is mud and I can never marry a decent woman 'cause I'll always be tied to her. There's nothing I can do but live side by side with that woman 'til the day I die. I'm in as much of a prison as Heyes!"

Lom felt sorry for his friend, but couldn't let that pass.

"Think Heyes might disagree with you on that score. I've seen him there. I think when it comes to punishment, he has the edge."

Curry looked up, shocked. "I didn't mean... I know he has it far worse than I could imagine, didn't mean to say he didn't. God, Lom…

Lom softened. "I know, Kid. Sorry. Guess we're all angry and upset about this."

They heard footsteps running outside and stood simultaneously.

A boy Lom didn't know put his head around the door. "Sheriff Trevors?"

"That's me."

"Letter for you. Guy paid me to bring it all the way back from Wyoming on the train! Fella said you'd find me somewhere to sleep and give me money to get back in the morning."

Lom nodded and reached for his pocket. He pulled out a handful of coins and handed a couple to the boy.

"Did you see that little yellow and white house next to the train station? The one with all the birdhouses?"

The boy nodded.

"Mrs. Wainwright lives there and takes overnight boarders. Tell her I'm sorry to disturb her this late and say I sent you. Ask her to give you something to eat. She'll take care of you. Train leaves in the morning at nine sharp, so you best be ready early if you want some breakfast first, okay?"

"Yes, sir!" The boy took the coins and ran off.

Through the whole exchange, Curry had been barely concealing his impatience. Now he reached for the letter. Lom pushed his hand away.

"It's my letter, Kid, and addressed to me!"

"Then read it!"

"I will, but I needed to take care of the boy first, as you damn well know!"

Curry flushed, but waited as Lom tore open the letter. Curry leaned in next to him and they read.

 _Sheriff Trevors -_

 _Forgive me for keeping you waiting and sending a letter rather than a telegram, but there was more to say than a telegram would have been able to convey._

 _Mr. Heyes has been badly injured and is currently in a critical condition. The doctor is not hopeful of his chances._

Lom heard Curry gasp and lean back against the desk. Lom swallowed and then continued to read.

 _Here is the story as far as I can ascertain it._

 _Heyes has been proving himself to be an exemplary prisoner and was appointed to work on the prison accounts in the small accounting office near the warden's house. He was being escorted back from his shift when a fire broke out in the prison._

 _It transpired that a group of prisoners tried to set a fire in their cellblock, hoping to use the ensuing confusion to make their escape. They had been gathering everything they could find that would burn and made a fire in the hallway outside some of the cells. Alas, they badly miscalculated. The sheets they gathered took up the flame immediately and they had positioned it underneath one of the skylight windows. Instead of creating a small fire that could be quickly contained after they had been removed from their cells, the fire quickly took to the roof. You will perhaps have heard that we have suffered an exceptionally dry season and there was an immediate conflagration._

 _With the roof ablaze, the cell block quickly burned from the top down, dropping burning debris into the cells below. Far from creating enough confusion to escape, they prisoners quickly found themselves trapped in the fire they had started._

 _The bell was rung and the guards rushed to help contain both the fire and the prisoners, as panic quickly spread throughout the building._

 _Before the guard watching Heyes was able to decide on any course of action, embers from the burning roof blew on a cruel wind to the warden's house, where they immediately set the little wooden structure ablaze._

 _The warden's wife had been entertaining guests, the governor's wife and her children. When they heard the bell, the two ladies ran out of the house to see what was the matter. They were quickly joined by the few servants that were working in the house that day, all eager to see what was amiss._

 _As the flames began to engulf the house, the women began to rush towards the building, screaming for their children. The guard acted immediately and held them back, the women fighting with unnatural strength to save their little ones. Indeed, one guard described them to me as 'fighting like mad women'._

 _Heyes, on seeing their distress, and with no thought for his own safety, rushed inside._

 _The children say he used a cane to push away the burning timbers from the hallway so that he could get inside. Once there, he quickly determined the best way to escape and used a bedsheet as a rope so the children could climb into a nearby tree, where one of the guards could help them down._

 _He managed to save all the children but one, the baby. The eldest girl believes that he was planning to carry the baby across himself, since none of the other children would have been able to bear the weight as they climbed, but at that moment a beam fell from above and blocked the window. She saw him turn for the door and run through the flames with the baby clasped to his chest._

 _We, of course, have no way of knowing how badly the house was burning at that point, but we can imagine the flames were fierce. He seemed to be hoping that speed and fleetness of foot would save him, and he very nearly made it._

 _It was when he ran back through the front door, within sight of escape, that the doorframe collapsed and the lintel above the door fell across him, pinning him to the ground._

 _By now, more guards had appeared and were trying to control the blaze. When the lintel fell, they quickly set to work dousing the beam and freeing him._

 _The baby was, unfortunately, killed by the blow and Mr. Heyes has been insensible ever since. He has burns over most of his body, but most of them are minor._

 _It is the damage done to his legs and back which give the doctor cause for concern. He believes that if - and he feels that it is unlikely - Mr. Heyes should live, then it is unlikely that he will ever recover fully. The extent of the damage to his back from the fallen beam is, of course, not yet known, and his leg was also broken at that time, although again, I'm not certain as to the extent of the injury. In addition, the damage to his body from the burns is considerable._

 _I was able to persuade one of the guards - a former colleague - to let me see Mr. Heyes and I must say that I am in agreement with the doctor. Mr. Heyes lies very close to death. It seems to me that the question is when, not if._

 _However, the governor's wife and the warden's wife, feeling they owe him an immense debt of gratitude, are laboring long and hard at his bedside to try to revive him. They feel that with God's grace, they may yet prevail._

 _Despite the implorings of his wife and her friend, the warden still insists that he will not be shaken from his rule of no visitors. He believes that God has given Mr. Heyes an opportunity to redeem himself from a life of greed, larceny and deceit, and that it is up to God to decide upon his fate. He feels that he if he showed mercy at this point, he would be undermining the judgement that God has seen fit to bestow._

 _However, in answer to the pleas of his wife and children, he has allowed himself to be swayed to the extent of allowing Mr. Heyes to receive a letter which can be read to him. Only God knows whether he will ever hear the words, but it may offer some comfort to his friends and family at this difficult time._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Tom Miller._

Lom lowered the letter and sank into the seat beside him. He saw Curry beside him, ashen faced and shocked.

Lom laid a hand on the Kid's back. "I think we need a drink."

Lom took a bottle of whiskey from the bottom drawer of his desk. Emptying the dregs from their coffee mugs, he poured a generous portion of whiskey into each.

They drank silently for a while until they started to recover from the shock.

Curry gripped his mug tightly. "If I'd just listened to him and gone away with him when he asked, none of this would've happened!"

"No, maybe it wouldn't. But you didn't know what would happen and neither did Heyes. You can't blame yourself; it wasn't your fault."

"No, that honor goes to my lovely wife, who's ten thousand dollars richer because of it!"

"Kid, Heyes doesn't blame you. He told me he wanted you to be happy. It's a shame it didn't work out the way he wanted, but he was happy that you're free. And Heyes knew he wasn't likely to survive a twenty year sentence. What's more, he wouldn't have wanted to. Twenty years in that place would have killed him anyway, slowly and miserably. This way, he gets to go out the way he would've wanted to. Like a hero, literally in a blaze of glory."

"I don't know how I can go on without him. He's looked after me since we were children."

"I know. But we're assuming the doctor is right! You know Heyes. He may pull through yet, especially with two lovely ladies looking after him!"

Lom thought it unlikely, but he hated to see the Kid like this. A little hope might make the eventual loss easier to bear.

Kid Curry sat up straighter, with a determined look in his eyes.

"You're right. Heyes never gave up anything in life without a fight. I'm gonna write that letter!"


	11. Chapter 11

Hannibal Heyes was lost in a fog of pain and misery. Every inch of him seemed to hurt.

He heard a voice through his muddled brain. He didn't know the voice, but the words… the words seemed so familiar... He tried to concentrate to hear them more clearly.

'Heyes, do you remember when we were children and you tried to teach me how to fish? I was too little and I couldn't cast my line. It kept getting tangled up everywhere until finally it got caught in my hair, and then I wouldn't fish again for weeks. When I did start again, you'd cast for me until I learned how to do it properly.'

Heyes remembered that day. Back when the Kid really was a kid... what was he then? Six? His mother liked to keep his hair long and those curls of his got tangled in everything…

Heyes listened some more.

'I remember, I followed you everywhere. You never minded though, never told me to go away…'

His little cousin, blond and angelic, running along beside him with clumsy feet, chattering all the time...

'Do you remember the time…'

The voice went on and on, reminding him of those long-ago days. He tried to open his eyes, to push himself up from whatever dark place this was. There was a wave of pain and a groan escaped his cracked lips.

Back in the world, two determined women exchanged a hopeful glance.

One pressed a damp cloth to his lips while the other continued to read.

'How about that time when we were trying to get away from a posse and you had a blacksmith turn our horseshoes around so it looked like we was riding the other way? You said an old Scottish King had done it and it worked for him… seemed unlikely to me, but darned if it didn't work for us too…'

He was confused… he recognized the words, but the voice was wrong...

He licked his lips and found them damp. In a hoarse voice he didn't recognize as his own, he asked, "K..kid?"

He felt his head being slightly raised and a trickle of water ran over his mouth and down his throat. He drank gratefully, confused by the odd angle for drinking, but enjoying it's cool comfort.

With more of a voice, he tried again. "Kid? Is he here?"

He started to cough, and the world went dark again.

When he next came back to the surface, he could hear...

'Missed you so much. I wish I hadn't let you go, but most of all, I wish… well, I wish I'd said it back to you. Y'know. Feel stupid writing it down and having someone else read it to you, but if that's what it takes, I'll say it -

Since I first knew you, I've loved you like a brother. When we lost our folks, you became my ma and pa as well, my only protector. You made sure I washed and ate and learned my letters, even though you were only a kid yourself.

So please come back to me, okay? Please just don't leave me in the world without you, even if we can't be together. You promised to stay with me and look after me, Heyes, and I'm not letting you stop now…'

He hated to hear the words, hated to think his cousin thought he might leave him. He could hear his cousin's voice as he spoke the words and he reached out his hand...

"Won't leave ya, Kid… never again..."

The pain continued, but he replayed the letter over and over in his head. While he lay drifting in and out, the voices would read the letter to him over and over, like a magical incantation. He was in constant agony, but he clung to the words, a litany in his head.

* * *

One morning, he opened his eyes and the world was clear again. He saw a woman sitting next to him, reading out his letter. When she saw him staring at her, she smiled.

"Mr. Heyes, are you back with us?"

He croaked from a hoarse throat, "Yes."

"Let me get you something to drink."

She lifted his head slightly, held a glass to it, and he drank gratefully.

He realized for the first time that he was lying on his stomach - that was why it was so awkward for him to drink. He tried to push himself over, but she put out a hand to restrain him. He realized that his leg was bound and splinted.

He hurt everywhere, but there was a removed quality about the pain, as though it belonged to someone else. He recognized the effects of laudanum.

"Why... am I… like this?" he whispered.

She smiled at him sympathetically. "Do you remember the fire?"

He thought for a moment and it all came back to him. He nodded slightly.

"When the doorframe collapsed, your back was burned quite badly. You need to lie like that until it heals enough that you can lay on it. Your leg was broken at the same time."

He didn't want to ask the next question, but he had to. "The baby?"

She was quiet for a moment. With a catch in her voice, she answered, "No, I'm afraid not."

He closed his eyes for a moment. He had hoped.

He felt her lean over and place a hand on his shoulder.

"You saved the others, Mr. Heyes. My children are alive because of you, remember that."

He licked his lips nervously. He hadn't thought about who he was talking to and hadn't realized she was the warden's wife.

"Mrs. Best?"

She smiled at him. "Call me Sally."

He took a breath and was suddenly overcome by a fit of coughing. The pain as the coughs wracked his body was unimaginable. She leaned forward and helped him drink.

"Be... okay?"

"It very much depends on you, Mr. Heyes. But it's a good sign that you're awake and talking."

"Kid?"

His throat was dry and it was hard for him to speak. His lungs felt heavy and full; he felt as though he would begin coughing if he continued to talk.

Her face cleared. "Oh! Yes. Mr. Curry wanted very much to come and see you, but since he couldn't, he wrote you this letter. He's been asking about you - he's very worried."

She saw him fighting to keep his eyes open.

"You should try to get some more sleep."

He couldn't argue with her, he was exhausted. With the last of his energy, he reached out his hand.

"C..could I?"

Again, she had a moment of confusion until she realized what he was asking for.

"Of course, Mr. Heyes."

She carefully folded up the letter and placed it in his outstretched hand.

He traced a finger over the familiar writing as sleep over took him.

* * *

Johnny Higgins had been kicking his heels at his uncle's newspaper office in Laramie, Wyoming. He was ready to take the world by storm, to break a story that would change lives and make people remember his name.

When he saw the headline, _'Fire Strikes Wyoming Prison! Famous outlaw Hannibal Heyes close to death after heroic rescue!'_ , he knew that his chance had finally arrived.

He hurried home and threw a few things into a bag, then headed out to the prison, ready to write the story that would make his name.

His spirits soared after speaking to the guards. This was it! This was the story he was waiting for.

He had only just begun at the newspaper when Hannibal Heyes had been arrested. Everything had happened so quickly that they barely had time to cover the facts before it was all over.

This time, however, he would not miss his opportunity.

People had liked Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry. There was a lot of grumbling at the time about the unfairness of Heyes' sentence, as well as a lot of speculation as to why Kid Curry, guilty of worse crimes, had been allowed to go scott free. It was widely thought that Kid Curry had sold out his friend. They were outlaws and people thought that perhaps their code of honor was not what they had believed it to be.

The story had died pretty quickly.

But Johnny had always wondered and knew that he wasn't the only one. Now he had a chance to revive it again and write the story he had always wanted to write.

* * *

His conversation with the guards confirmed that Hannibal Heyes had indeed been injured rescuing the children of the warden, as well as those of the governor. He was not expected to live and was even now being tended to by the grateful mothers of the children involved.

It had everything he could want - a prison break, children in danger, a poor convict saving the lives of his jailer's family - pathos, tragedy and drama.

When he heard that someone in the sheriff's office had been asked by a sheriff in Porterville to report on Heyes' condition, he was intrigued. Why would a sheriff be interested in Heyes now? Another layer was added to the story when he heard that Kid Curry had been given permission to write to him. Hadn't Kid Curry betrayed him? Why would he want to write a letter and why would Heyes want to hear from him?

Knowing there was still more to this story, Johnny made a quick decision. Mounting his horse, he rode as fast as he could for Porterville.

He arrived there in the early evening, his horse about ready to fall under him. After leaving the horse at the livery and being treated to a stern lecture about the treatment and care of horses, he made his way to the sheriff's office, only to find it closed.

Deciding quickly, he made his way over to the saloon and sidling up to the bar, he ordered a beer.

"Hey, can you tell me where I might find the sheriff, Lom Trevors?"

The bartender pointed to a table towards the back of the room where two men sat eating.

"Thanks." He picked up his beer and headed over.

Two men sat there, one older, with a stern air of authority, and one younger man, who glared at him with a dangerous glint in his eye.

"Lom Trevors?" asked Johnny.

The older man turned towards him.

"That's me."

Johnny extended his hand.

"Pleased to meet you, sir. I was wondering if we could talk for a few moments?"

"About?"

"Hannibal Heyes."

There was a sudden tenseness at the table and the other man spoke.

"Why do want to talk about Heyes?"

"Umm..." For a moment, despite his twenty-two years, Johnny felt like a schoolchild being questioned by a stern teacher. "I'm with the Laramie Recorder and want to write a story about him rescuing those children."

"Why?"

"People loved Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry. Everyone was shocked when he was captured and sentenced to twenty years. I mean, twenty years? He never hurt anyone. And now he's a hero! People should know the whole story."

Lom pushed out a chair with his foot. "Sit down."

"So, you'll talk to me?"

The other man spoke up. "Long as your not goin' to write anythin' we wouldn't like. If you did, I'd take it real personal."

Lom gestured to his friend. "Allow me to introduce Mr. Jedediah Curry."

Johnny froze in the act of putting out his hand to the other man.

"Kid Curry?"

The other man said nothing.

Lom took a drink from his glass. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Oh! Yeah… Well, I heard that you asked one of the guards to check on him and I wondered why? I mean, why would a sheriff from Porterville care about Hannibal Heyes?" He got carried away as he warmed to his theme. "And why would he want a letter from Kid Curry? I mean didn't he…" He trailed off, embarrassed, suddenly remembering who he was talking to.

They ignored his tactless slip and exchanged a glance.

Kid shrugged. "Why not?"

Lom seemed to agree. "What did you want to know?"

The boy was taken aback. He hadn't expected it to be this easy.

"Okay… how do you know Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry?"

Lom signaled to the bartender for some more drinks and they settled in to tell their stories.

Kid had to modify his version of events. Whatever his private thoughts about Mary, he wouldn't expose her to that kind of public hatred. In his version, Heyes was betrayed by an anonymous tip. Other than that, they told Johnny everything.

Johnny could barely conceal his excitement; this really was it, this was the story he was looking for. He said his goodbyes and went straight up to his room to write the story that would make him famous.

* * *

Two days later, his story was printed. The Laramie Recorder was a small paper, but a story as popular and sensational as that one was picked up and reprinted in every newspaper across the country.

When Johnny was able to report that Heyes had regained consciousness after hearing the words of a letter written by his younger cousin, his story was once again picked up by every newspaper worthy of the name.

Suddenly, the governor was inundated with questions and complaints from a nation standing firmly behind their fallen hero. Each day brought stacks of letters from all over the country and people shouted to him wherever he went.

It was the last thing he needed. He had his own problems.

He had been embezzling funds and taking bribes for many years, confident in the knowledge that no one was looking too closely at what he was doing. Now suddenly he was exposed to public scrutiny and he knew that very soon his illegal dealings would come to light.

Two weeks after the fire, while his wife was still helping to tend to the man that had saved the lives of their children, Governor Charles Hamilton packed a bag, cleaned out his safe and boarded the train to Silvervale.


	12. Chapter 12

Once Governor Hamilton's flight was discovered, his successor, Governor Thomas Jackson, was quickly appointed to take over in his place. He was in a difficult position. There was no money left and the title of governor had become a byword for treachery and criminal behaviour.

The former governor had abandoned his wife and the children that had been so recently snatched from death, saved by the very man to whom he had refused the amnesty he had promised. Hamilton's wife and children had been forced to return, penniless and disgraced, to her father's house.

A mound of letters arrived daily, filled with outpourings of disgust at the treatment of a man who, while admittedly a criminal, had nevertheless been an honorable man; a man who had been abiding by the law for over two years and, in their opinion, had done nothing to warrant a twenty year prison sentence.

This newspaper fellow seemed to be finding people all over the country to attest to Heyes' good nature and eagerness to help uphold the law. A number of criminals, it seemed, had even been brought in by the two outlaws, and numerous people had been helped by them.

Even without that, Governor Jackson would have felt that Hannibal Heyes had been unfairly treated. Jackson was a man who firmly believed that a man's word was his bond. He hated to think that the word of the Governor of Wyoming had been brought into disrepute by a low blaggard like Charles Hamilton. Hamilton had promised them amnesty if they could prove they could stay out of trouble for one year. They had done it for twice that, even going out of their way to make amends and right wrongs where they could, but Hamilton had not kept his word.

Jackson arranged a series of meetings with the heads of the railroads and banks that had been the most vociferous voices against Heyes. He was surprised to find they were in agreement with him. They, too, had been feeling the effects of the backlash of public opinion, as sympathy for Hannibal Heyes continued to rise.

Rather than losing steam, the newspaper seemed to be constantly finding new and complimentary stories about Heyes and Curry, until, as one railroad baron remarked irritably, he'd started to think the public would only be satisfied with their sainthood.

With everyone in agreement, Governor Jackson decided the only thing left was to go and see the attorney general, and perhaps even the President himself.

The attorney general, like everyone else, had seen the tide of public opinion turn towards Hannibal Heyes, and readily agreed to recommend a Presidential pardon. The president, needing public goodwill for a series of reforms he had planned, agreed.

Three months after being appointed governor, Thomas Jackson travelled back to Wyoming with a presidential pardon in his pocket for Hannibal Heyes.

There was only one condition attached to the pardon - Jackson had to wait until he received a telegraph from Washington DC giving authorization to release it. The president planned to announce it at the same time that he would announce a controversial piece of legislative reform. Hopefully, the press would ignore the rather complicated reform bill in favour of the far more popular Hannibal Heyes story.

* * *

Hannibal Heyes' recovery had been slow.

At first, the laudanum kept him in a sleepy fog, but as he began to recover he started to refuse the hated drug. After that, the pain had been bad enough to take his mind off everything else.

He had burns over most of his body. Although most of them weren't serious, the burns on his back and leg were extensive and had been bad enough to permanently damage the muscles.

When he was finally clear enough to understand the doctor for more than a few minutes at a time, Doctor MacTavish pulled a chair next to his bedside. He gave a polite greeting to the warden's wife, Sally, who tried to be beside Heyes as often as she could, determined to do her best to repay the debt she owed him for the lives of her children. She had been reading to him and she paused as they both turned to look at the grim-faced doctor.

"Heyes, I want to talk to you about your injuries. Would you like Mrs. Best to leave while we discuss them?"

Heyes shook his head. He could see from the doctor's expression that this wasn't going to be good news and he felt he wanted someone else there, someone who felt like a friend. For a brief moment, he closed his eyes and tried not to think how much he would give to just have the Kid by his side. Under the guise of pushing himself up, he reached under his pillow and palmed his cousin's letter, which he gripped like a talisman. He knew it was foolish, but it was at least a connection to the Kid, however remote.

"Very well then. While most of the burns on your body are healing nicely, the damage to your back and your leg was severe. During the healing process, those injured muscles contract." Seeing Heyes frown, he clarified, "They pull together. The damage is permanent and it means there will always be some pain in those areas, so movement will be uncomfortable. Coupled with that, the break in your leg hasn't healed correctly. We can't know yet to what extent this will affect you, but you can expect some problems with mobility. We'll just have to wait and see how badly you'll be affected."

Heyes saw the doctor's lips compress in disapproval as Sally reached out and squeezed Heyes' hand. Although he appreciated the sentiment behind the gesture, Heyes felt uncomfortable at being touched that way. No-one had shown him any affection in almost three years and it made him uneasy. He gently pulled his hand away, but at the same time his other hand tightened around the Kid's letter, as if it could shield him from the rest of the world.

Oddly, the news of his injuries didn't bother Heyes as much as it should have. Mobility didn't seem that much of a concern any more. He lived in prison cell and spent his days sitting in an office working on the prison accounts. He would live that way until he died or somebody finally killed him outright. What did it matter if he couldn't walk? He wasn't going anywhere. And as for the pain… well, he was getting used to it.

He could see that the doctor was watching him to see if he understood. Heyes nodded and the doctor walked away, satisfied. Sally looked at him curiously.

"Are you alright, Mr. Heyes? Would you like to talk about it?"

Heyes shook his head.

"But surely… news like that! You can talk to me, Mr. Heyes, I don't mind."

Again, he shook his head. She couldn't understand it; he'd just received some terrible news. Since she felt responsible, she felt she owed it to him to give him whatever comfort he needed.

Heyes saw her thoughts reflected on her face and tried to explain.

"Doesn't matter," he told her. He was so used to silence he had to search for the words he needed. "Not here."

Her heart twisted as she realized what he was trying to say. He had a sentence of twenty years, he would be there for the rest of his life. It didn't really matter if he couldn't walk very well since there was nowhere to walk to.

* * *

He didn't remember the governor's wife very clearly. He had been out of things for most of the time that she was there and she had needed to return home with her children before he was fully aware of anything. But as he lay slowly recovering, the tedium of his days would have begun to wear on him if it hadn't been for Sally.

Initially, she tried to talk to him, but found his habit of silence was so firmly instilled that conversation was near to impossible (unless, she thought, she chattered on endlessly only expecting a word or two in response, and she got enough of that sort of conversation from her husband!). She remembered how well he had responded to hearing her read to him and soon discovered their shared enjoyment of books. Not that he ever said much to her, but she now felt she knew him well enough to read in his face which books he was enjoying, and which he merely tolerated or even disliked.

She quickly realized that he disliked her beloved Jane Austen novels and the works of Charlotte Bronte, although they both enjoyed 'Wuthering Heights', a book she had never even mentioned to her husband, in fear that he would think it 'unsuitable for a lady'. After that, she read Oliver Twist and he seemed to enjoy it - although she fancied that he preferred to hear about the Artful Dodger rather than the protagonist - and she was planning to follow that with more Charles Dickens, until she read in a newspaper that he had helped solve a crime with information he'd found in Mark Twain's 'Life on the Mississippi'. She quickly obtained copies of 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer' and 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' and was surprised to find that she enjoyed them every bit as much as he did.

She knew that her husband disapproved of her reading these frivolous novels, but she argued that reading to the prisoner was her godly duty and if she was to do it well, then she was going to read something that they both enjoyed. Both she and Mr. Heyes - she insisted on calling him 'Mr.', she felt he had earned that much at least - were familiar enough with their Bibles (her husband had told her that he had frequently seen Heyes reading his Bible) that their souls could stand a diversion for a little while. He would, after all, have another seventeen years to continue reading the good book.

The burns on his back seemed to take a long time to heal. They would help him to a sitting position to eat and drink, supporting him while he did so, to avoid putting pressure on the damaged skin. Afterwards, they would lay him back on his stomach. He couldn't even lay on his side because of his broken leg. He grew to hate lying like that.

It was wonderful when it was determined that his back was sufficiently healed to allow him to lie normally again, but by then he was facing other problems. After the accident, he had obviously lost even more weight, and now he was starting to feel the effects.

He was dangerously weak. He had to be helped to sit, as he no longer had sufficient strength for him to push himself up and he quickly became tired. He also needed help to eat, his hands shook too much to hold the bowl. He hated feeling so incapable and tried to eat as much as he could to regain his strength.

In addition to everything else, his body was frequently racked by a cough that he couldn't seem to get rid of. The doctor said that the smoke inhalation had damaged his lungs and he now found it more comfortable to sleep propped up against a pillow to ease his coughing.

He lost count of the weeks that he was confined to his bed. Even though he hadn't cared much when he'd been told that he might have problems walking, he felt nervous when the time came to try.

The doctor's assistants, trustees named George and Harry, stood next to him and helped him up from the bed. He knew it was foolish, but he felt anxious about their proximity. When they reached over to help him up, he felt himself shudder at their contact.

As they moved to help him to stand, he gasped in sudden pain and a wave of vertigo washed over him.

They waited until he was ready and then started to move again.

His leg had stiffened after weeks of inactivity. As the trustees supported him, he managed to pull it forward and tried to put his weight on it. There was a sudden burst of pain and the next thing he knew, he was lying on his bed while the doctor held smelling salts to his nose.

"What happened?"

"It seems you have a little way to go before you can try to put any weight on that leg. The break must have been worse than we thought."

He had to take things more slowly after that. Over the next few weeks, they continued to walk him around the hospital wing until he began to feel more comfortable using the leg. Even then, the slightest pressure on it caused him to wince with pain.

The doctor was right, he was never going to be able to walk without help. He began to practice getting about with crutches at first, and then tried with just one. He was soon able to move around by himself and after another three weeks - more than three months after the accident - he was released to return to his cell, supported by a sturdy cane.

He was glad to return. He would miss the visits from Sally and he would desperately miss the books she had brought with her, but returning to the cell felt like a return to normal life.

He felt exposed in the hospital. He was fortunate that very few prisoners had been there during his stay, because he felt he was too vulnerable to attack while he was there. He had become used to Doctor Mactavish and Sally, but George and Harry made him nervous; every time a new patient was admitted, he had lain awake, worrying about what they might do.

His cell felt safe, like the only safe port in a storm. He was the only one there and the door would be locked at night. He could return to his old routine again and he found it a comfort. He could stay secure in his cell, leaving only when he was escorted to his office to work. He had regained his strength and he had proved before that he didn't need to leave his cell for breakfast and dinner. Once again, he could survive quite happily on just his lunch. He lay on his bunk and breathed a sigh of relief.

He could be alone again.


	13. Chapter 13

More than five months after the fire, Wyoming Governor Thomas Jackson received the telegram he was waiting for from Washington D.C. He promptly invited Jedediah 'Kid' Curry and Porterville Sheriff Lom Trevors to be present at a press conference, where he presented them with a signed presidential pardon for Hannibal Heyes. He had considered presenting it in person to Heyes, but he had some idea of what men could look like after three years of imprisonment and didn't want to spoil the mood of the day.

Curry and Trevors could hardly believe it.

The press went wild, shouting congratulations. Kid Curry couldn't seem to stop shaking the governor's hand, while Lom tried to field questions. As quickly as they could, they left and made for their horses.

With the new pardon packed carefully into the pocket of Curry's jacket - he was taking no chances on being separated from it - Kid Curry and Lom Trevors rode quickly to the Wyoming prison that housed their friend.

They met with the warden and handed him the pardon.

Warden Best pursed his lips when he recognized Lom and realized that the sheriff had deceived him about seeing Heyes when the prisoner had first arrived. He accepted the pardon and advised them that Heyes - he corrected himself, the man was no longer an inmate - Mr. Heyes would be released within the hour. They chose to wait outside. Neither Lom or the Kid liked being inside the prison and waiting for Heyes with the warden would have meant making conversation with him, which neither of them felt they could do easily.

They stood outside in the cool evening air and paced while they waited.

* * *

Almost an hour later, Hannibal Heyes walked unsteadily out of the prison gates.

He was in shock, startled by the sudden change.

He had been quietly working in his office when a guard came to collect him. He'd been worried, it wasn't his usual time.

"Heyes, come with me."

Heyes slowly put down his pen and reached for his cane with shaking hands. He didn't know why he was being taken away from his work and he was worried about this sudden change in his routine.

The guard was quiet as they slowly walked back to the prison block. Warden Best didn't like the prisoners to hear anyone talking and expected even the guards to be quiet unless it was required for the proper running of the prison.

Heyes was escorted to his cell where he was handed his former clothes. He looked at them in shock; they seemed to come from another life.

"Heyes, put these on. You're leaving."

The guard was smiling at him, but Heyes looked around in panic. He didn't want to leave, he felt safe there. Where was he going? He nervousness increased and his hands started to shake.

"It's alright Heyes. You got a pardon, you're going home."

Heyes froze. It was too much to take in. A pardon? How? Why now? And where was he going to go?

"Hurry up and change. Don't you get it, Heyes? You're getting out of here!"

He sat on the bed to change out of his prison clothes. He closed his eyes briefly as the soft fabrics of his old clothes touched his skin. Surreptitiously, he transferred his letter from Jed into the pocket of the clothes he was putting on. Although he was sure that he shouldn't have been allowed to keep it, he had kept it with him ever since it had been given to him; its folds were worn with wear.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes, sir."

He stood before the guard. His clothes no longer fit him, hanging off his thin frame, and he held the trousers up with one hand as the guard looked at him critically.

"Wait here."

The guard returned a few minutes later with a length of thin rope. Heyes paled and backed against the wall, wondering what the rope was for, his imagination working overtime.

"Here, use this." The guard gestured towards his clothes.

Hesitantly, Heyes reached for the rope and realized what it was for. He sat back down, fixing the rope through his belt loops.

"Better. Come on, Heyes, follow me."

He stood before the warden and was told again that he had received a presidential pardon and was being released. The warden didn't say why and Heyes couldn't ask him, the habit of silence was too hard to break. He still couldn't take it in… he was here for twenty years, why was he being released now? He couldn't concentrate on the warden's words and before he was even aware of anything, he was being led out of the warden's office towards the gate.

He followed obediently, but kept looking back in panic, waiting to be stopped. Wanting to be stopped. He didn't know what was going to happen next. What was waiting for him outside those walls?

The imposing gate was thrown open and - with a little push from the impatient guard - he stepped outside. The gate closed behind him with a loud clang and he turned at the sound.

He had no idea what he would do next.

* * *

Even though the Kid and Lom were expecting their friend, when the gate opened and a figure stepped out, they didn't recognize him.

The man limped out slowly and unsteadily, slightly hunched and using a cane for support. From the way he walked, Curry assumed that this was an old man.

He kept his head down, but he turned back to look at the closing gate as if he wished he was still on the other side of it. Slowly, he turned away from the gate and looked out, and Kid Curry froze as he realized that this was, indeed, his friend.

Curry ran over to him and enfolded him in a hug. He didn't even notice the other man stiffen with shock.

"Oh God, Heyes, I've missed you!" Heyes felt small and insubstantial in his arms and Curry heard a gasp as he pulled him in closer. Curry gently pushed his cousin back so that he could look at him.

"Did I hurt you?"

Heyes shook his head. "Kid?" His tone was disbelieving, and he lifted a hand to touch his cousin, as if he thought he might be dreaming.

Curry reached for his hand and examined him in thinly disguised horror. Heyes had lost a lot of weight, his clothes hanging off him and his face thin. There were shadows under his eyes that looked like bruises against his pale face and his hair was shaggy and unkempt.

"Yeah, it's me. I've come to take you home, Heyes. It's over, you're a free man at last!"

Heyes still looked stunned and Curry had the feeling that he couldn't quite believe it.

"Come on, let's get you out of here."

Curry took his cousin's side and led him over to Lom.

Lom tried to disguise his shock at his friend's appearance. "Welcome back, Heyes. It's good to see you again."

Heyes gave him a weak smile and together they helped him into the wagon.

Curry sat with one arm tight around Heyes while Lom drove. Curry felt he needed to be next to Heyes, to know that this was real and his partner was free at last. Heyes seemed to feel the same and leaned against the Kid as they rode.

"We'll stay at a saloon for the night. Tomorrow morning we'll get the train and head home. Is that alright?"

Heyes nodded. He didn't even seem to know what the Kid was saying, it felt so unreal.

"You feel okay? Want anything?"

Heyes shook his head.

Curry noticed that Heyes was shivering and reached back to grab a blanket.

"Shoulda told me you were cold! Here." He wrapped the blanket around his shoulders and Heyes smiled his thanks.

"Well, why didn't ya say something?"

Heyes shrugged and they drove on in silence. Curry was starting to worry. He couldn't help but notice that Heyes had hardly said a word since he'd got out.

When they reached the saloon, Lom went inside to get the rooms while Kid helped Heyes down from the wagon. Apart from a grunt of pain as Heyes came down from the wagon, he was still silent.

"You alright, Heyes?"

Heyes didn't answer, but watched warily as a stable boy came over to take the wagon from them.

Curry tried again. "Heyes? You okay?"

Before he could get a reply, Lom returned and handed them a key. It was early evening and raucous noises were coming from inside the bar.

Curry grinned at Lom. "Sounds like it's gonna be a wild night!"

He turned to Heyes and laughingly said, "You wanna have a drink or two, maybe play a little poker?"

He was teasing, knowing that Heyes would want to freshen up and rest, but he was completely unprepared for the look of horror that appeared on Heyes' face.

"No!"

Curry and Lom exchanged a worried look. Curry put a hand on his back and realized that he was shaking.

"Hey, it's okay, I was just teasing. I thought you'd like to have a bath and maybe rest a while. That sound good?"

Heyes didn't move. He continued to cast fearful looks at the saloon. The shouting coming from inside reminded him of the prison riot and he knew he couldn't go in there.

Lom thought he understood. Since his visit with Heyes, he had spent some time learning about the issues facing men who were incarcerated in solitary confinement prisons. He hadn't thought that Heyes would ever get out again, but he had been curious enough to do some research into the subject. He had been horrified by what he had found.

"There's a side door that takes you straight up to the rooms. Why don't we use that?"

Heyes nodded gratefully while Curry looked on, confused.

Curry couldn't help but notice that Heyes stayed close beside him the whole way, his eyes darting around nervously.

Once they reached the room, Curry threw their bags down and turned to look again at his partner.

Heyes looked even worse now that he was standing in the middle of a clean hotel room. Curry had been so startled by the other changes in Heyes that he hadn't noticed before how dirty and unkempt he seemed. He remembered how fastidious his cousin had always been and how hard Heyes had tried to keep him clean, even when they were children running from town to town.

Heyes was equally aware of his appearance and stood uncomfortably by the door. He looked like he was waiting for the Kid to tell him what to do.

"I'm just gonna have a word with Lom. I'll be right back, okay?"

Again, Heyes nodded silently.

Curry grabbed Lom's shoulder and steered him out the door. Once outside, he asked, "What the hell's going on? Why is he acting like this?"

Lom looked grave. "He's been in jail where he's been told what to do every minute of the day. He hasn't been allowed to sit without someone telling him to, much less speak; when I went to see him, the guard hit him just for saying my name. He probably hasn't said more than ten words to anyone since he got in there. Prisons like that, they're designed to break a man. I've been reading about them. Their purpose is to 'strip away a man's sense of self'. They have a lot of cases of mental illness and suicides." He saw Curry blanch at his words. "I'm not saying that's anything we need to worry about with Heyes, I'm sure he'll be okay; but we need to give him some time. Don't rush him, just try to make him feel more comfortable."

Curry took a deep breath, and for the first time, he realized their problems weren't over yet.

"Yeah, 'bout that. I'm gonna get him a bath, get him cleaned up. Would you go and see if you can get him some new clothes from the Mercantile? They might still be open. Those things he's wearin' now are hangin' off him and I'm not havin' him walk around with his pants tied with a string!"

"Sure, no problem."

"Thanks Lom."

* * *

Curry turned and went back into the room. Heyes was standing where he'd left him, his nails digging into the brim of the hat he clutched nervously.

"Heyes, I'm sorry. Why don't ya sit down? I'm just gonna go downstairs and see about gettin' a bath sent up. Will you be okay on your own for a few minutes?"

Heyes nodded and Curry ran downstairs. He was back a few minutes later. Heyes was perched on a wooden chair by the door. Curry frowned at him, but decided to say nothing.

"Only bath they have is tied up right now. We're gonna have to go to the bath house, but it's not far, just behind the saloon. Let's go and get you cleaned up, okay?"

Heyes looked at him in panic. He had to go out again?

Curry saw the worry in his eyes. "It's not far and you'll feel better afterwards. I'll be with you the whole time!"

Heyes swallowed nervously and nodded again.

"Heyes, would you mind just sayin' something? I've sure waited a long time to hear you talk again and you're startin' to make me nervous!"

Heyes tried to smile. "Sure, Kid." His voice sounded hoarse and uncertain.

Curry beamed back at him. "Okay, let's go."

Their walk to the bathhouse was the same as before, with Heyes keeping himself pressed in beside his cousin. Curry paid for two baths - he figured he may as well since he was there - and a haircut.

The surly barber took the money. "Haircut for him?"

"Yep."

"Well, I ain't touchin' 'im till after he's had a bath and a goin' over with the lice comb."

Curry glanced quickly at his friend and saw his flush of embarrassment. He felt a sudden rush of anger. Before he could speak, the barber handed him a container.

"There's some kerosene in there. Wash his hair with that, it'll kill any critters."

"Yeah and him too if he gets near a flame!"

"Well, rinse it real good after. I ain't cuttin' it 'til I know it's clear."

"Fine."

Curry grabbed the soap and towels and went into the other room, where two boys were emptying the last buckets of hot water into the tubs. Once they left, he turned to his cousin.

"Alright, water's good and hot. Imagine a hot bath is gonna feel real good."

He paused, not wanting to pry, but wanting Heyes to feel he could talk about what had happened.

"Did you get to take baths..." he hesitated to say it, "...in there?"

Heyes started to shake his head, then saw his friend's face. It was hard to speak after being silent for so long, but this was the Kid. If he wanted him to speak, then he would try.

"Cold showers. Jug and basin in our cells." He was so used to keeping his answers short, it was a habit now. At least he'd managed to say something.

Curry smiled. Heyes' voice still sounded hoarse and scratchy, but it was the most he'd said so far.

"Then this is gonna feel like heaven. Jump on in, water's not gonna get any warmer."

Heyes sat on a nearby chair and started to remove his clothes. Curry turned away and tried not to stare. It looked like Heyes had scars everywhere, and some of the skin looked oddly fresh and new where the lesser burns had healed. From his thigh to his back, Curry could see the deep scarring caused by the fire.

He knew it was ridiculous to pretend he hadn't seen any of it. In a softer voice, he asked, "Does it hurt much?"

Heyes shrugged. "I'm used to it."

"When I hugged you..."

Heyes smiled a glimmer of his old smile. "Wasn't ready."

"I was. Been waitin' almost three years to give you that hug, you're lucky I didn't break your ribs!"

They grinned at each other for a moment. Curry tried not to notice that he could see each and every one of the aforementioned ribs.

Heyes gave a little hiss as the water touched his back and Curry watched in concern.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Feels good."

Curry handed him the soap. "Let me take care of your hair while you soak. You don't want to get kerosene in your eyes."

Heyes colored again. "I can do it."

"Nah, it's easier if someone else does it."

"Sorry."

"Not your fault. Now lean back and let me do this."

He went over and over again with the lice comb to make sure it was clear and then washed it three more times with soap to get rid of the kerosene.

"Okay, that should do it. Just don't go leaning over any lamps. I think you've had enough problems without me setting your hair on fire."

As he said it, he worried that he'd gone too far, but Heyes just smiled.

"Yeah." He started to cough.

"Heyes, you okay? Gettin' too cold?"

Heyes shook his head. "I'm fine."

"You're coughing."

"It's the kerosene."

Curry noticed that the smell of kerosene in the water was pretty strong.

"Bathwater stinks and you're gettin' dirty again just by sittin' there. Come on, you're gettin' into the second tub."

"That's yours."

"I'll live. Let's just concentrate on you."

Heyes climbed out of the tub and stumbled slightly. Curry caught him and helped him into the other tub. Just as he started to relax into the fresh water, they heard someone come in.

Heyes sat up quickly, immediately defensive.

"It's alright, probably just Lom. I left a message for him to meet us here."

Sure enough, Lom walked into the room.

"Hello boys. Got some fresh clothes here for you, Heyes. Should fit you a little better." He saw the empty tub of water. "Decided not to take one yourself, Kid?"

Curry smiled at Heyes in answer. "Yeah, decided against it."

Heyes flushed and continued to scrub himself clean.

Kid and Lom sat back and chatted until Heyes had finished and was ready to get out. Curry noticed him looking around.

"You ready to get out? Need a towel?"

Heyes nodded. He knew it was ridiculous; he and Lom had been friends for years, but he was finding it hard to speak in front of him.

This time, Heyes waved away Curry's helping hand and climbed out with a little more care. He tried to cover himself and dress quickly, while holding onto the side of the bath for support. Lom pretended not to notice his scarred and emaciated body. Heyes put on the new clothes, which were still a little large for him, and pulled on his boots. He sighed with contentment at feeling clean for the first time in a very long time, the sigh turning into a yawn. He was very tired.

Lom stood up. "We should probably get some dinner."

Heyes looked quickly at Curry, as if hoping he'd contradict the sheriff. Curry tried to guess what the problem was. To judge by his appearance, he was surely ready for a good meal.

"You don't want to go and eat?"

Heyes shook his head.

"Heyes, tell me you want. You've got to be hungry."

Heyes swallowed nervously. It had been a long time since he had been allowed to want something.

In a low, faltering voice, he asked, "Could I sleep?"

Curry bit his lip. His cousin needed to eat, but he was clearly exhausted. He saw how nervous Heyes was about asking for something and that decided him.

"Sure. We'll go back right after we get that haircut. Looks like they've been cuttin' it with a blunt machete!"

Heyes smiled weakly, not looking forward to returning to the barber but recognizing the truth of what his cousin was saying. It would be good to feel more like himself again.

* * *

The barber wasn't as bad as he'd feared. His taciturn manner meant he didn't make conversation, and the few questions he asked were answered by his cousin, but Heyes still shook with nerves and tried to pull away every time he saw the scissors coming towards him. Under the circumstances, it wasn't the best haircut he'd ever had, but it was an improvement. Once it was finished they went back to the room.

Heyes was now so tired he thought he would fall over where he stood, but it didn't seem right that he should climb into that clean, soft bed. It didn't seem like a bed for someone like him. He hesitated again at the door.

"Heyes, I thought you were tired?"

He nodded.

"Well, go on then, get into bed. Hope you don't mind sharin' like we used to, but they only had two rooms. It was this or one of us sharin' with Lom, an' he snores!"

Heyes felt foolish, but he was immensely relieved that he had to share with his cousin tonight. There had been so many changes today that he needed his cousin beside him to make him feel safe. For his part, Kid Curry still couldn't quite believe he had Heyes back at last and he wanted to keep him close for a while.

Heyes stripped down to his new underwear and climbed into the large bed. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so comfortable and he sighed contentedly as he lay against the soft pillows.

"You mind if I stay up a little longer? It's a bit early for me. I'll keep real quiet."

"Sure." Heyes yawned as he spoke and his eyes started to close.

"Goodnight, Heyes."

"'Night, Kid." He was asleep almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth.

Kid heard a quiet knock on the door and opened it to find Lom outside with two mugs and plates on a tray.

"I figured you wouldn't want to leave so I brought us dinner."

Curry grinned. "Thanks. I was hungry."

They sat down with their plates and started to eat.

"We shoulda made him eat. He needs fattening up."

"Yeah, I know. Just wanted to let him do whatever he wanted tonight, you know? Besides, he did look tired. Fell asleep the minute his head hit the pillow."

They watched him sleep.

"It's gonna take a while to get him even close to his old self. Things like he's been through, they leave more scars than the ones you can see."

"I know. It's my turn to look after him for a change."


	14. Chapter 14

When Heyes woke up, there was a brief moment of disorientation as he tried to remember where he was. He sat up quickly and looked around in a panic.

"Mornin', Heyes."

Curry was shaving in the mirror next to the bed. Heyes relaxed when he saw him. For a moment it seemed so normal, so familiar, that he thought he must have dreamt the last three years in the prison. Then he started to cough and Kid handed him a glass of water.

"Thanks."

"You okay?"

He nodded. Seeing the Kid's worried expression, he added, "It's nothing."

Curry decided not to press him any further. "Okay. How are you feelin' otherwise?"

"Good." Seeing that his cousin was hoping for more, he added, "The bed felt good."

"Wish I could let you sleep longer, but our train leaves in a couple of hours and I'd like to get something to eat first."

He saw Heyes swallow nervously.

"Something wrong?"

"I'm not hungry."

"Hungry or not, you have to eat something. Now tell me what's wrong."

Heyes sighed and started to play with the quilt beneath his fingers as he tried to find the words.

"It's just… just that... I'm not used to being around people anymore. I know it's stupid but..."

Curry wiped his face with a towel and watched his cousin through the mirror. He couldn't decide if Heyes' nervousness was because of what he was saying or because it was the longest sentence he'd spoken since he'd got out. Heck, for all Kid knew, it may have been the longest sentence he'd spoken in years.

"It's not stupid. I think I can even understand a little. I imagine it's like when you've been riding on your own for a while and you get sorta quiet. Takes a while to get back into the swing of things sometimes. Is it like that?"

Heyes nodded and added in a low voice. "Yeah, kinda. Everything's so loud and nothing feels safe!"

Curry sat on the bed and put his arm around him. "Then it's a good thing that me and Lom are here to watch your back! We won't let anything happen, I promise."

Heyes nodded reluctantly. "Okay."

"Good! Then you best be gettin' ready, because guess what? I'm hungry as a horse!"

* * *

Twenty minutes later they sat down in the small restaurant across from the saloon. The other two tried not to notice that Heyes was white and trembling with nervousness. They sat in the far corner of the restaurant, away from the other diners.

A waitress quickly approached them.

"Mornin', gentlemen. What can I get you today?"

She set menus down in front of them and poured some coffee.

Lom ordered first. "I guess I'll have biscuits and gravy."

She turned to the Kid.

"Steak and eggs. And a side of pancakes. Oh, and some potatoes."

She grinned at him. "That all?"

"'Less you can think of anything else!"

"Think you've pretty much got it covered."

She turned to Heyes, who was staring at his menu. "And what can I get for you?"

Heyes didn't meet her eyes. "Um..." He trailed off.

He was too nervous, he felt sick to his stomach. Although he kept his eyes down, he could hear the murmur of voices in the restaurant; there were too many people here. All he wanted to do was to get out of there. As crazy as it was, he almost wished he could be back in the prison, safe in his cell and away from all these people.

Even though he kept his eyes down, he felt the others watching him, waiting.

"Um... toast," he asked, his voice barely audible. He breathed a sigh of relief, happy to have found something.

Curry took the menu from Heyes and smiled again at the waitress. "He'll have steak and eggs with that. Thank you...?"

"Sarah," she filled in for him.

"Well, if the food looks as good as the waitress, I'll be happy!"

Lom smiled and rolled his eyes, but Heyes looked worried. Curry thought he knew what was bothering him.

"Eat what you can and I'll finish the rest. How's that sound?"

Heyes nodded, keeping his eyes down.

Lom was determined to get Heyes to start talking to him.

"What did you eat before, Heyes?"

Heyes kept his voice low and continued to stare at the table. It was easier to speak if he didn't look at anyone; he could imagine he was talking to the Kid. "Gruel or soup and bread."

Curry's jaw dropped open. "That's all? No wonder you're skin and bones!"

"Most places believe that you should just feed them enough to stay alive so they don't cause trouble. His place was a little different. The idea there was that if they weren't thinking of their bellies, they would become more spiritual and get closer to God," explained Lom.

"Well, if he'd stayed there much longer he woulda! He looks like he was gettin' ready to pay him a visit!"

Heyes blushed and kept his head down.

"Sorry, Heyes, but you really need to put some weight on."

At that moment the waitress came back with their plates. "Here you are, boys. Enjoy!"

* * *

They began to eat.

Curry ate with gusto, digging in enthusiastically. Lom ate slower, taking his time, while Heyes picked at his food. He was too nervous to even notice what was in front of him. His stomach was turning cartwheels and just the smell of the food was making him feel green. After a few forkfuls of eggs, he concentrated on the bread, tearing small pieces off and chewing them slowly. He didn't even try to touch the steak.

Within minutes, Curry leaned back with a satisfied look on his face. "That was good!" He looked over at Heyes and noticed the slow progress he was making with his food.

"Something wrong with yours?"

"No."

Curry saw that he'd tried the eggs and was at least trying to eat the bread. He noticed how green he looked.

"How about I take that steak off your hands?"

Heyes nodded gratefully. The Kid was just about to start on it when he heard a shout from across the room.

"Kid Curry!"

There was a bustle of attention from the rest of the diners as they searched for the man he was looking at.

Curry saw a gun pointed in his direction and recognized the man immediately. He could tell that Heyes remembered him as well. Curry swore under his breath.

"Charlie Tucker," he quickly explained to Lom, "he's a bounty hunter. Caught me once. Didn't hold onto me, though."

Lom guessed that Heyes had been the reason for that, although from the way Tucker was ignoring the other man, Lom also guessed they'd never met.

Tucker's gaze flicked over Heyes dismissively and turned to Lom. "And you must be Hannibal Heyes. Saw you was out."

The real Hannibal Heyes kept his gaze firmly on the table.

"No, I'm Lom Trevors, sheriff of Porterville."

"Is that so?" Tucker turned his attention back to Curry. "Heard you'd turned in your partner for amnesty. Didn't believe it until now. Hanging around with sheriffs, cool as you please! Ain't that something?!"

Lom could see Curry's temper rising at the accusation. Heyes moved his hand forward and grabbed onto Curry's arm. Curry gave him a quick look and tried to calm down. The last thing he and his partner needed right now was to be involved in any trouble.

"My friends and I are havin' breakfast right now. We'd like to be left alone."

"Oh, would you now? Well now, I'd have preferred to have got the ten thousand dollars that I shoulda got for bringing you in."

Curry tried to remain cool. "Well, you didn't bring me in."

"No, I didn't. You snuck off into the night and ran away."

Curry bristled. "I coulda shot you instead. Would that have been better?"

"You couldn't have. I'm betting you're not as good as everyone makes out. Now if we were to settle this, here and now, like men..."

Curry could feel Heyes' rising panic, but didn't want to draw attention to him.

"As you pointed out, I have amnesty now. I'm not going to risk that by tryin' to prove somethin' that I don't need to prove anyway."

"Is that so?"

Lom slowly stood up and put a hand to his gun. "You heard the man, he has amnesty now. No-one here has any quarrel with you. Why don't you just get out of here, before you get yourself arrested?"

"You ain't the law in this town."

"No, but I can still take you in." Lom could smell liquor on the man's breath. Had he started drinking early that morning or was he still drunk from the night before? How would it affect his ability to draw if it came to it? It had certainly affected his judgement - no man with any sense would threaten someone in front of so many witnesses.

"'Zat so? Not even sure I believe that you're a lawman. Why would you be hanging around with Kid Curry if you were? In fact, why don't you take out that there gun and put it down on the floor. Real slow, now."

Lom cast a glance in the Kid's direction and did as he was told.

Tucker continued to keep his gun pointed at Kid Curry as he moved around the table, closer to Curry and Heyes. Although Curry's first instinct was to draw his gun, he knew it would be the worst thing to do in the circumstances. The man was drunk and that made him unpredictable. This could get ugly very quickly and if this turned into a gunfight, Heyes was in no position to defend himself; he wasn't even wearing his gun.

Curry hoped the local law would get there quickly.

The bounty hunter was now next to Heyes, standing between the two cousins. He glanced away dismissively as he noticed that Heyes wasn't armed.

Tucker brought his gun closer to the Kid's head. "Let's me and you go outside and settle this like men."

"Alright." At this distance, Curry could smell the whiskey on his breath. He glanced at Lom, who looked back helplessly. Tucker was too close and too unstable; he could fire at any minute. A move from either of them could be enough to set him off.

Curry raised his hands and began to stand. If he could just get them both outside and facing each other in a fair fight, they might still be able to get out of this alright. There were enough witnesses to state that he was just defending himself.

As Curry pushed his chair back, Tucker stepped back to better keep him in his sights. As he did so, he tripped over Heyes' cane.

Heyes still knew a thing or two about survival and when it was the Kid's life on the line, he acted purely from instinct. In the brief moment it took for Tucker to regain his footing, Heyes flew out of his chair and pushed his knife to the man's throat. Curry found himself unable to breathe as he saw a small bead of blood appear at the knife's point. He pulled out his gun and Lom reached down for his own.

"Drop your gun." Lom's voice was steady.

Tucker hesitated, evidently wondering if he could still fight his way out of this. The man holding him didn't feel too steady and was shaking badly. He should be easy to overpower and could perhaps be used as a hostage. Almost as if he knew what Tucker was thinking, the pressure of the knife increased. A droplet of blood dripped to the floor.

"Now!"

"Alright, alright!" His gun clattered to the floor, but Heyes continued to hold the knife to his throat.

Lom moved towards him. "You can let him go now."

Heyes didn't seem to hear him. Lom touched his arm and he jerked back, pressing the knife further towards the bounty hunter's jugular vein. Neither of them wanted to use his name and identify him in this public place, but he didn't seem to hear them.

They heard a booming voice behind them.

"Stand down, boy."

Heyes turned his eyes to the newcomer and heard the command in his voice. He seemed to suddenly notice what he was doing and dropped the knife in alarm. He backed up against the wall.

The newcomer turned to Curry.

"If you'd keep him covered for a moment, I can go ahead and get this man out of your way." He pulled out a pair of handcuffs and locked them around the bounty hunter's wrists.

He cast his eyes over the small group. Curry had moved over to Heyes and was holding him firmly by the shoulders.

"You gentlemen staying at the saloon? Leaving on the next train?"

Lom answered for them. "That's right."

"If you'd be so kind as to go to your room and wait for me there, I'll be along just as soon as I get this one locked up."

Curry made a move to say something but was interrupted by the sheriff.

"You won't miss your train. Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."

A quick glance around the room and at his cousin showed the Kid that the sheriff was right, they needed to get him out of there. Heyes had been self-conscious enough before, but now everyone was staring at him and he was shaking badly from the shock of what had happened.

Curry leaned over and handed the cane to Heyes, then led him out, flanked by Lom.

* * *

When they got to the room, Curry felt his cousin sink in his arms as his knees gave way. Curry sat him on the bed and poured him a glass of whiskey from his flask.

Heyes drank it quickly and then started coughing. Seeing his cousin's concern, he said, "Been awhile."

Curry sat beside him while Lom took a chair and they waited for the sheriff. They could see that Heyes was worried.

Lom tried to reassure him. "There were plenty of witnesses, you're not going to get in any trouble."

"But..."

"No. Everyone saw what happened, you've got nothing to worry about, has he, Kid?"

"No..." They both heard the note of uncertainty in the Kid's reply. He didn't have the faith in the law that Lom had and Heyes had just been released from prison. Would his word be taken over that of a law-abiding bounty hunter? Lom was known to be on their side and who knew whether the other witnesses would tell the truth?

Heyes reached for his cane and stood up.

Curry frowned. "Where are you going?"

"I don't know... I can't stay..." He couldn't seem to think straight, he just knew that he couldn't wait there another minute.

Lom stood up. "Heyes, sit down, you're not going anywhere."

They heard a knock at the door. Curry grabbed hold of his cousin as Lom opened the door.

"Sheriff."

"Gentlemen, thank you for waiting." He took in the sight of Curry and Heyes. "Word is that you're a bit unsteady, Mr. Heyes. Why don't you take a seat?"

Curry led Heyes back to the bed. "What's this about, Sheriff? It was self-defense, pure and simple."

"I know that, Mr. Curry."

"Then why d'ya tell us to come back here and wait for you?"

"Still need you to sign a complaint against him and I figured Mr. Heyes wouldn't want to be going anywhere near a sheriff's office."

"Oh."

Lom moved forward. "That's very considerate of you, Sheriff...?"

"Williams. I believe Mr. Heyes knows my cousin, Sally. She married the warden of the prison he was just released from."

Heyes looked up sharply.

"Those were my nieces and nephews that you saved that day, Mr. Heyes. I'm glad that justice was served in the end."

He held out a hand for Heyes to shake. Heyes reached out nervously, as if expecting a trap.

"Mr. Heyes, you're shaking like a leaf."

"He's been a might jittery since he got out. This didn't help much."

"A lot of 'em come out that way, Sheriff Trevors. A prison's a hard place to spend any time, I guess you found that out. I've seen men come out of there broken after only six months. You trust in your friends, Mr. Heyes, and they'll help you get through this. But you gotta be patient, give yourself some time." He checked his watch. "Well, you better be heading out for that train. It was a real pleasure meeting you, Mr. Heyes. Good luck to you." He tipped his hat, "Mr. Curry. Mr Trevors, let me just get your signature here."

Lom and the sheriff left the room and Heyes closed his eyes and exhaled.

"He's right, we'd best be gettin' ready. Are you okay?"

Heyes nodded.

Lom came back in. Turning to Curry, he asked, "Are we ready?"

"Think so."

"Then let's get you home, Heyes."


	15. Chapter 15

They climbed into the train car with only minutes to spare. It was noisy and crowded; Curry could feel his cousin's anxiety. It had been bad enough going through the town, but the minute Heyes had seen the other people gathering for the train, he'd stopped completely. Curry tried to cajole him and persuade him with no success, until at last, he and Lom had to practically drag him onto the train.

Curry pushed Heyes into the seat, where he was flanked by the other two.

"It's okay, it's just for a little while and then we'll be home."

Heyes tried to calm down and catch his breath, but he couldn't seem to. There were so many people around, so many different directions to watch. He pushed himself further back into the seat and tried to believe that his cousin and Lom could keep him safe.

It was a little harder to believe after the incident in the restaurant.

It struck him for the first time that he didn't know what was going to happen to him or where he was going to go. The Kid had mentioned home quite casually, but Heyes didn't know where that was. Was it possible that home for the Kid was Silvervale and Mary? And if so, Heyes couldn't imagine Mary being pleased to see him. Heyes certainly didn't want to see her. He wanted to ask the Kid, but he couldn't ask him in front of all these people.

The volume in the train car continued to creep up until it even grated on Curry's nerves. Heyes was pressed into Kid's side as if he could hide behind him and, in turn, Curry moved a little forward, trying to cover him. Lom moved forward at his other side to do the same. Heyes' eyes were down now, trying to block out the sights and the Kid could see him rubbing his temples and wincing.

"Headache?"

Heyes nodded and Curry frowned. Reaching into his saddlebags, he pulled out his flask and handed it to his cousin. Heyes' hands were shaking so much that he could barely hold it. Some of the whiskey splashed into the carriage and the scent of it wafted up.

Lom leaned forward. "I think you're scandalizing the respectable people on this train."

"Tough. He has a headache and I don't have anything else to give him."

He didn't want to say the rest, that Heyes was terrified by all the people and Curry thought whiskey might help him to calm down.

At that moment, one of the respectable people approached them. It was an older woman with an officious manner.

"Gentlemen, do you think that you are setting the right tone by drinking on this train car?"

Curry tipped his hat politely, but his tone was clipped. "I'm sorry ma'am, but my cousin hasn't been well and he has a headache."

She looked over at Heyes, who looked so clearly unwell that she was instantly sympathetic.

"Oh, you poor thing! I quite understand. Don't drink any more of that - I'll be right back."

True to her word, she was back within minutes holding a small bottle which she handed to Curry.

"I make it a point never to travel without a small bottle of tonic. It's wonderful for headaches! You must, of course, be careful with it's usage, as too much can be a problem in itself, but a small dose now and again can be of inestimable value."

Curry looked at her gratefully. "How much should he take?"

"May I have your flask?"

He handed it to her and she measured a small amount of the liquid into the cap.

"That should be sufficient."

"Thank you. We sure appreciate it."

She smiled, completely won over. "Not at all, young man. I'm happy that I was able to help."

A few minutes later, they noticed the lines soften on Heyes face as he started to doze.

Curry folded his jacket and placed it under his head as a pillow. He turned to Lom and grinned.

"We need to buy a bottle of that stuff."

* * *

Heyes slept for the rest of the journey and the others were able to relax a little. Lom tried to rouse him when they reached his stop in Porterville, but Heyes was sleeping too soundly.

"Tell him I said goodbye, will you? And if you need anything, just let me know."

"Sure will. Thanks again, Lom."

"Take care of him. I'll try to come out and visit as soon as I can get away."

"That'd be great. 'Bye Lom."

When they reached their destination some hours later, Curry shook him awake. "Heyes, we're here."

He picked up their bags and threw them over his shoulder as he tried to help his cousin. Heyes was groggy and unfocused, so Curry manhandled him out of the train like a drunk.

Bill had come to meet him with the wagon and jumped down to help. The fresh air was starting to revive Heyes, but he still hadn't fully recovered.

"What's wrong with him?"

Curry shrugged and climbed up beside him, pulling him to his side. "He had a headache. A lady on the train gave us something to help him and he's been out of it ever since."

They drove back at a quick pace. After a little while Curry felt him pull away. He looked a little more alert.

"Heyes? How are you feelin'?"

"S..stop!"

"Stop?"

"Gonna… be..."

Curry realized what his friend was trying to say. He leaned forward and tapped Bill on the shoulder. "Stop!"

Bill reigned in the horses and Curry jumped to the ground, reaching up to help Heyes climb down. Curry held him as he vomited repeatedly on the grass verge. Bill grabbed a canteen and handed it to them. Heyes rinsed his mouth and spat before taking a drink.

"Feelin' better?"

Heyes nodded.

"Come on, let's get you home."

Curry kept his arm around his cousin as they drove. Heyes still seemed to be having trouble staying awake and focused. When they got to the house, it was late. They took him inside and laid him in the big double bed.

Curry shook him awake. "Heyes?"

Heyes opened bleary eyes. "Huh?"

"Heyes, do you need a doctor?"

He shook his head, wincing at the movement. "Musta given me laudanum. Makes me sick."

Curry nodded in understanding. "Sorry, I didn't know."

"'S okay. Helped." He closed his eyes and fell asleep again.

Curry slept beside his cousin that night, not wanting to leave him alone, especially since he was sick. He felt that he had waited so long for this moment, he still couldn't believe it was here.

* * *

Curry woke late the next morning, but still before Heyes. He checked that his cousin was alright, then dressed and shaved. Seeing Heyes was still sleeping, he went to the kitchen and prepared some eggs, putting them on a plate with some bread and a chunk of ham. He added two cups of coffee and went back to the bedroom.

As he opened the door, Heyes' eyes flew open and he looked around him in alarm. He began to cough and reached for the glass of water beside him. Curry narrowed his eyes, but decided not to say anything about it for now.

"Mornin' Heyes. Brought you some breakfast."

He set the tray down on the bed beside his partner and sat across from him to eat. Heyes eyed the tray but made no move towards it. Curry looked up from his own plate.

"Eat, Heyes!"

Heyes obediently leaned forward, picked up the other plate and started to eat slowly. There was a feeling in the room, something… Kid frowned as he looked at his friend and saw the small line on his forehead and the ever so slightly thinned lips. Heyes was annoyed about something! He couldn't help it, he grinned. He'd missed his partner's mercurial changes of moods, even if he would never admit it to anyone.

"Okay, Heyes, what is it?"

Heyes eyes flashed for a minute, but he shook his head and kept his eyes down at his plate.

"Come on, Heyes, spit it out. What's wrong?"

Again, he shook his head.

"Heyes!"

He regretted his tone as soon as he spoke and saw Heyes jump, his eyes flashing with sudden fear.

"Oh God, Heyes, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to say it like that. I just want you to tell me what's wrong! Please, just talk to me. Tell me what's botherin' you."

Heyes looked up and saw the sincerity on Curry's face. He gestured at the plate in front of him. "I'm not an invalid."

Curry looked confused for a moment and then laughed. "Is that it? You're angry because I brought you breakfast?"

Heyes flushed and looked back down at his plate.

"Well, if that's what's makin' you mad, you're really gonna hate what I'm goin' to tell you next."

In answer to the unasked question, he said, "I sent word to have Doc Brown come around this mornin' and check you over, make sure you're okay. He should be here any minute."

Even as he said the words, they heard the sound of a horse's hooves outside. Heyes looked up in alarm and reached for his cousin. "I'm fine, Kid. Really." His voice was pleading.

"Maybe. But you keep coughin' and you look like hell! I won't be easy in my mind until the doc's had a chance to look you over. Please, Heyes, just for me? You know how you'd feel if the situations were reversed."

"But…"

"Please, Heyes. Just… do it for me, okay?"

Realizing that he couldn't fight him, Heyes sighed and leaned back against the pillows, defeated.

Curry smiled. "Thanks Heyes. I'll go get him."

* * *

A few minutes later he returned with the doctor. Doctor Horatio Brown had played poker with 'Joshua Smith' and he considered the former outlaw to be a friend.

"Joshua! Or should I say, Mr. Heyes? It's very good to see you again!"

Heyes looked at him nervously. He was also curious; the appearance of Doc Brown meant they were in Silvervale, but if that was the case, where was Mary? The thought that she and the Kid were married made Heyes feel slightly sick. He hadn't had any opportunities to ask questions so far, but he realized that he was going to have to, and soon.

For now, he said nothing. The doctor flashed a quick glance at Curry, who had warned him about the new quiet, anxious Heyes.

"Don't worry about a thing, Mr. Heyes. I always like to give my patients a thorough examination when I see them for the first time and it'll put Mr. Curry's mind at rest once and for all. He's been worrying about you ever since you left us. But it looks like I've disturbed your breakfast?"

Curry leaned forward to move the breakfast things away. While he had eaten almost everything on his plate as they'd been talking, Heyes had eaten only a small portion of the eggs.

Heyes looked to see if his cousin was going to answer for him and then replied in a low voice, "Finished."

The doctor picked up the plate from the tray and looked at it critically. "Well, I hope you can do better than that at lunch. You don't need to be a doctor to see that you could stand to gain a little weight."

Heyes, as expected, made no answer.

The doctor moved forward to begun his examination and Heyes instinctively flinched away.

"I won't hurt you, Mr. Heyes. You can trust me."

Heyes flushed, embarrassed, and then nodded.

"Please take off your shirt for me, Mr. Heyes."

"Heyes."

"Excuse me?"

"Just Heyes."

"Oh! Thank you. And as I'm sure you remember, everybody just calls me Doc. I'm afraid I'm no more fond of Horatio than you are of Hannibal."

Heyes smiled again, a real smile this time, one of the old ones that just made everybody want to smile back. Kid grinned to see it.

Heyes removed his shirt and the doctor began his examination.

"Well, I was right, you definitely need to eat a few good meals. The next time I see you, I don't want to be able to count your ribs from across the room."

He put his ear to Heyes' chest. "Can you cough for me?"

Coughing was not a problem. Stopping the cough once it had started, was.

Curry poured out a glass of water and handed it to his friend. Within a few minutes, the coughing subsided.

The doctor watched him with concern. "When did the cough start?"

"A..after the fire. Smoke damaged my lungs."

"I see." He looked at the man's scarred and emaciated body. "Would you have any objection to me writing to the prison doctor to ask about the medical treatment you received while you were there?"

Heyes was startled. "Why?"

"Sometimes it helps to know what injuries a patient has suffered and how they've been treated, in case it becomes relevant later. For instance, Jed tells me that laudanum makes you sick. That's good to know for the future."

Heyes looked doubtful.

Curry stepped in. "What harm can it do? I mean, it doesn't matter, does it? It's not like there's anything to hide, is there?" He watched his cousin. "Is there?"

"No!" Heyes thought of the stabbings and the beatings he'd taken. He felt ashamed of his helplessness, of everything that had happened. He hoped that the Kid would never find out, but if he objected too much, he'd suspect something. He decided there was nothing he could do except risk it and take a gamble that the prison doctor wouldn't want to release that information anyway.

"Okay."

The doctor looked at him speculatively for a moment and then nodded. "Thank you. Would you please remove the rest of your clothes? I'd like to examine your injury."

Heyes swallowed and proceeded to remove his long johns beneath the blankets. His face was beet red and he glanced quickly at Curry, who smiled at him.

"Heyes, I've seen you naked a thousand times and he's a doctor. I think we can handle it."

When he saw the scarred burn tissue up close, he wasn't so sure.

He seen some of it, obviously, the night that Heyes had taken a bath; however, he'd been concentrating on trying to make Heyes feel at ease so he'd tried to avoid looking directly at him as he changed. Heyes had undressed quickly and got into the bath. Curry had been concentrating on cleaning his hair so hadn't seen any of the damage up close except for a few quick glances.

The skin across his shoulders was mottled, appearing white in some areas and varying shades of red in others. In some areas, his skin had the pink, flawless look of fresh skin that had recently healed.

But lower down, scar tissue ran from his back to his lower leg. It was at its worst from his thigh to just above the base of his spine, where it looked angry and painful, running the spectrum from white in some areas to angry shades of red and brown in others. The flesh there looked exposed, almost ropey and tight, as if it had been pulled across his body.

Heyes turned his head to see his partner. The Kid knew that Heyes was watching to see his expression, trying to see if it would be pitying or disgusted.

Kid Curry used every trick he knew to keep his expression neutral. He'd had practice; a big part of being a gunfighter was the ability to keep your expression blank as you faced the opponent. A twitch or a blink at the wrong moment and you could give everything away.

So with the best poker face he had ever put on, Curry turned his gaze from his partner's back to look him in the eyes and said, in as light a tone as he could manage, "Damn Heyes, you don't do things by halves do you? Looks like that musta hurt!"

He saw the relief on his friend's face as he spoke, but it was momentary. Heyes tensed as the doctor gently ran a hand over some of the worst scarring.

"Does it hurt?"

"Not too much."

"But it does give you pain?"

"When I have to move a lot."

"Hmm. Makes sense. The skin and muscles contract after an injury like this. I imagine a lot of movements are sore at the very least."

"Yes."

"I see. Thank you, Heyes, you can get dressed now. We'll give you some privacy at last and you can join us in the kitchen when you're ready. How does that sound?"

"Fine."

* * *

Curry and the doctor went out to the other room. They kept their voices low as they spoke.

"Doc?"

"Well, he's not in great shape right now, but with proper care, he should be alright. I'm a little worried about his mental state right now. You're right, he's very withdrawn and he seems very anxious. I remember when I knew him before he was pretty talkative. It might help if you can get him to talk about what happened in there - find out why he's so quiet now. I'm curious as to why he didn't like the idea of me contacting the prison doctor. Makes me wonder what else he's been through. But give him some time to adjust, take things slowly. He was in there for three years so he's not going to get over it in a few days."

"Yeah, I know. I just want him to be okay."

"You have to accept that he may never be the man he was."

"I don't care. Just as long as he's here and safe, I don't care if he's a little quiet."

They heard the tap of his cane as he walked across the hall and saw his suspicious glance as he came inside.

"Yeah, we were talkin' about you. Doc was just giving his report."

"Certainly. Well, the first and most obvious thing is that you need to gain some weight. We need to build you back up again! I'm concerned that your temperature is a little higher than it should be and you feel a little warm. You're far too weak to fight off any kind of infection right now, so you need to take care of yourself for a while. If you can, try to get a little fresh air and sunshine now and then, although you need to avoid getting chilled. A little moderate exercise wouldn't hurt either. Go for a few walks when the weather will allow it."

"Can he ride?"

"I should think so, if it doesn't hurt him. Just short, easy walks though, no galloping across the hills just yet."

Despite himself, Heyes smiled at the thought of it. The others smiled in turn as they watched him.

"I'll come back later and bring you some salve that might help with your muscle soreness and I'll leave you with a bottle of laudanum. I know it doesn't agree with you, but there may be occasions when you need it anyway."

There was a knock on the door and Curry called to whoever it was to come in.

Bill entered with a smile and looked around the room. They all noticed Heyes shrinking back as he entered.

"Mornin' Doc, Jed. Hello Mr. Heyes, good to see you again."

Heyes had moved farther back into the room, trying to efface himself. Three other people in the room seemed like too much just then. At the greeting, he gave a quick, nervous smile and his eyes pleaded to the Kid for help.

Curry leaned forward and flashed a smile at his cousin. "Everyone just calls him Heyes."

Heyes gave a nervous smile and nodded.

"Heyes it is then!"

"What can I do for you, Bill?"

"Me and the boys were wondering whether there was anything particular you wanted us to start on today. I know that you wanted to get a start on fixing the barn roof as soon as we had a good day for it. Well, I reckon we got one!"

"Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks Bill."

"We'll get on then. Gentlemen." He tipped his hat and left.

The doctor picked up his bag as well.

"I should go too. Call me if you need anything at all. And remember that I'm always eager to play a good game of cards! Goodbye Jed, and take care of yourself, Heyes. Remember what I've told you. I want to see you at least fifty pounds heavier the next time we meet!"


	16. Chapter 16

As the door closed behind him, Heyes let out a sigh of relief.

"You okay?"

Heyes nodded.

"What do you want to do today?"

Heyes shrugged.

"Come on, Heyes! First day out of that place… there must be something you'd like to do?"

Heyes thought for a moment. "Could we go outside?"

Curry was delighted. "Sure, we can go outside! You can do anything you want, you're free now."

When he heard those words Heyes stared blankly at him for a moment. He'd almost forgotten what that meant. He wasn't even sure what he was supposed to do.

He followed the Kid to the front door and then stopped.

Curry turned around, puzzled. "Anything wrong?"

"Your gun. You don't have your gun."

"My gun?" He laughed, "No, of course not! I don't wear it when I'm home, Heyes!"

Heyes took a step back. He couldn't go out if they weren't protected. Anything could happen. "I don't know where mine is..."

"Your gun? It's in a bag with the rest of your things. One of the guards brought it out to us while we were waitin' for you. Why?"

"What if something happens? We should have a gun."

Curry could see that Heyes was backing away. In a gentle tone, he said, "Your gun will need to be cleaned, it's been in a box for three years. Would you like me to wear my gun while we're outside?'

Heyes felt like a fool, but he couldn't help himself. He nodded.

"Okay." Curry walked over to the bedroom and came back wearing his gun. "Better?"

Heyes nodded, completely disgusted with himself over the relief he felt, and followed the Kid as he led him out to the porch.

"Would you like to walk around the farm or sit for a while?"

"Sit."

He'd like to have walked around, but there was always a chance that they might meet someone. He wasn't ready for that yet. Sitting on the porch was safer and they would also have a chance to talk.

* * *

They sat in the two large rockers that now replaced the loveseat the Kid and Mary had shared.

Despite the time of year, it was a beautiful day, one of those strange Colorado days that almost felt like summer. Heyes closed his eyes and turned his face up to the sun. He opened them to find his cousin smiling at him.

"Sun feels good," he admitted.

"Sure does."

Heyes was enjoying the peace and the warmth of the sunshine and the feeling of security he felt in his cousin's company. For three years it had been brutally drilled into him that he shouldn't speak until spoken to and it was proving to be a hard lesson to unlearn; but as uncomfortable as he felt, he had to ask.

"Kid?"

Kid looked up, pleased. It was the first time Heyes had said anything without being prompted in some way first.

"Yeah?"

"Where's Mary?"

"Oh."

With everything that had happened, Curry had almost forgotten that Heyes didn't know about any of the events of the past few months. Of course, he would expect Mary to be here.

"Mary left me, Heyes."

Heyes' eyes went wide with shock and Curry nodded.

"Yeah, it's quite the story. You're never going to believe this, but…"

At that moment there was an almighty crash and the sound of shouting. Heyes went white and reached for his cane, looking around desperately for the source of the trouble.

Curry stood up and saw Micky running over to them.

"Lefty just slipped and fell through the roof! It's not too bad, he fell onto the loft, but I think he needs a doctor. Brought half the damned roof down with him as well!"

Curry swore. "Alright, I'll be right there."

Micky nodded and hurried away.

Curry turned to his cousin. "I'm sorry Heyes, but I've got to go and take care of this. Will you be okay on your own for a while?"

Heyes understood that the Kid needed to go and take care of the injured man. "Sure, Kid."

Curry bit his lip and paused for a moment. He knew he had to go, but he hated leaving Heyes on his first day back. "You wanna come with me?" he asked hopefully.

Heyes paled and shook his head. "I think I'll go and lie down. Kinda tired."

Curry nodded. Heyes did look worn out. "Alright. I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?"

"Sure. Go on, Kid. I'll be fine."

Curry turned and ran towards the barn as Heyes took one last look at the sunshine and headed back inside.

It was dark inside after the brightness of the porch. He didn't know what he should do next. He'd made the excuse of coming in to lie down, but he was too wound up. He'd like to read, but he didn't have any books and he didn't like to go looking around to see if he could find any. This wasn't his home and it would have felt intrusive to go searching around, the same way it felt wrong to sit in the tastefully decorated parlor.

He went back to the bedroom and pushed the rocking chair over to the window, where he sat watching the clouds move across the sky.

* * *

Micky walked over to Curry. "Where's Heyes? Ain't he comin'?"

"Maybe later. He's real tired so he's gone to lie down."

Bill overheard. "He looked wore out. Glad he's takin' things easy."

They led him over to Lefty, lying on the floor of the barn. Curry was pleased to see that he was conscious and didn't look too bad.

"Hey, Lefty. Where are you hurt?"

"Landed on my ankle. Hurts real bad."

Bill came up beside him. "Don't think it's broken, but he banged it up real good. Thought we should get him in the wagon and take him to Doc."

"You don't think we should just send for him?"

"Nah, if we do that he has to wait twice as long. He ain't busted up so bad that the journey will bother him overmuch. Plus, his folks live in town and he can go there to heal up."

Curry turned back to Lefty. "What do you think, Lefty? That sound good to you?"

Lefty nodded. "Sounds fine, Mr. Curry. My ma, she'll take real good care of me."

"Okay then, let's get you to Doc."

He and Micky helped Lefty to the wagon while Bill started issuing orders to the other men to try and clear up some of the damage. Curry took him aside. It was his responsibility to make sure that the injured man was taken care of, but he hated having to leave the ranch on this of all days.

"Bill, I've gotta go with Lefty. Heyes said he's gonna lie down, but can you check on him and take him something to eat if I'm not back by lunch?"

"No problem, Jed, don't you worry. I'd like to see him again anyway, haven't really had a chance to say hello properly yet."

"He's been a little... quiet since he got out."

"That's okay. Don't you worry none, it'll be fine."

Casting one last anxious look in the direction of the house, Curry flicked the reins and headed into town.

* * *

The rest of the men worked at a steady pace to repair the new damage to the barn. Just before midday, Bill stopped working and went to the small bunkhouse kitchen to prepare some lunch for them all. They were all hungry after their morning's work.

Bill picked up the extra plate he'd made and headed over to the house. He knocked on the door. There was no reply, but he'd been expecting none. If Heyes was sleeping then he wouldn't have heard it. He opened the door and let himself in. After the noise and the sunshine of the day, the house seemed dark and unnaturally still.

He cleared his throat. "Heyes?"

There was no answer. He walked into the kitchen and put down the plate, then headed down the hall to the bedroom. He knocked on the door. "Heyes?"

A quiet, nervous voice answered with a single word. "Yes?"

"It's just old Bill. Can I come in?"

Without waiting for an answer, he opened the door and stepped inside. The chair had been pulled up to the window and, from its gentle motion, its occupant had obviously been sitting there just minutes before.

Now Heyes stood, somewhat defensively, as if he expected some kind of attack.

"Didn't know if you'd eaten yet, so I brought you some lunch. It's in the kitchen."

Heyes gave a small nod and tried to smile.

"Jed's still at Doc's with Lefty, but he wanted me to check on you. I wanted to come over anyway and say hello, proper like. Haven't had a chance to speak to you since you got back."

Heyes looked at the floor, embarrassed. He knew they'd been friends before but he was someone else then. Now he now just wanted to be left alone. Bill walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. Heyes flinched away quickly and almost fell. He grabbed the back of the chair to right himself. Bill moved back.

"Sorry, son. Imagine it's a lot to get used to, all at once."

Heyes said nothing.

Bill tried again. "It's good to have you back, we've all missed you. Micky was just asking about you, and Queenie and Ben at the saloon are looking forward to seeing you again when you get into town."

Heyes didn't know what he was expected to say. They sounded like people he had known in another lifetime. He couldn't imagine seeing those people now, talking to them.

"Anyway, I don't want to keep yammering on while your food's gettin' cold. I guess I'll leave you to eat. You need anything?"

There was a moment when he almost asked if Bill had a book that he could borrow, but he couldn't do it. He shook his head.

Bill had seen that moment of hesitation. "You sure? Nothing I can get you?"

He felt humiliated by his timidity and by the words Bill had used - 'he wanted me to check on you'. Like Heyes was a child that needed to be looked after. Heyes sighed at his own cowardice, but was determined to at least try to say something.

"No. Thanks." Then, with an extra effort, "I'm fine. Gonna sleep some more."

He didn't want to be a burden to his cousin when the Kid had a ranch to manage. It might even be true; just talking to Bill had taken a huge amount of effort, he was exhausted. He wished Bill would leave.

Bill sighed and walked over to the door. With his hand on the handle, he turned. "It'll get easier, son, trust me. Things always do."

Heyes closed his eyes with relief when he left. Every interaction seemed like an ordeal - he felt flustered every time someone spoke to him. He sat back down in the chair and exhaled. He was shaking and his heart was racing in his chest. He tried to focus on the passing clouds until he felt calm again. He didn't think he could go to the kitchen to eat. He couldn't face eating anything right now; he felt sick to his stomach, but it was more than that. What if someone else came by and let themselves in? He couldn't risk it, not feeling the way he did now.

He lay back in the chair and watched the sky until his eyes closed and he fell asleep.

* * *

It was early evening when Kid Curry finally returned.

When they got to town, the doctor had been out on a visit so they had to wait around until he got back. Then they had to wait while he patched up Lefty before they could take him back to his house. Once there, his mother had insisted they sit down, have some tea, and tell her what had happened.

Curry knew that as Lefty's employer, it was expected of him, but he had never before done his duty with such reluctance. He was desperate to get back to Heyes and everything seemed to be conspiring against him.

It was Heyes' first day back and he'd been on his own all day.

Curry let himself into the house quietly, in case Heyes was still sleeping. He'd seen Bill in the yard and Bill told him that Heyes had been awake at lunchtime. He'd spoken to him, but Heyes had been very quiet. Curry hoped that he'd managed to get some more rest after lunch. He did look very tired.

Seeing no-one in the parlor, he looked into the kitchen and saw the untouched plate sitting on the table. His eyes wandered around the room to see if he could spot any signs of anything else being disturbed - perhaps Heyes had eaten something else instead? - but he saw no signs of it.

He walked quietly to the bedroom and softly opened the door.

His partner was in the large rocking chair facing the window, sleeping fitfully. As Curry watched, he twitched and whimpered in his sleep. In the midst of his dream, he murmured unintelligibly. It clearly wasn't a happy dream.

Curry knelt beside him and gently shook his arm. "Heyes? Heyes? Wake up, Heyes."

Heyes woke to a pair of blue eyes looking into his. He looked around in confusion and shifted in the chair.

"Whatcha sleeping here for? There's a bed right next to you that wouldn't leave you with a crick in your neck that'll bother you all night. Trust me, I know. I've slept in that chair before."

"Fell asleep."

He began to cough, and Curry handed him a glass of water. "Yeah, I see that."

He looked at the position of the chair and made a connection. "Why d'ya come in anyway, if you just wanted to sit in a chair and look outside? Coulda stayed where you were on the porch! At least those chairs are a little more comfortable, an' it was warmer out there in the sun! It's chilly in here."

Heyes shrugged, wincing as he felt the stiffness in his back from his position.

"Told you. Come on, let me help you up."

"I'm fine." He rose, stumbling as a bolt of pain shot through his back.

Curry put an arm around him and helped him over to the bed. "Sit there for a few minutes until the worst of it passes."

Heyes did as he was told, stretching a little as he tried to work out the kinks in his back.

Curry sat next to him. "Why didn't you eat your lunch? Did you eat anything today?"

"Wasn't hungry."

"Ya gotta eat, Heyes. Doc told you that just this morning! Doesn't matter if you feel hungry or not, you gotta make yourself." He softened. "Could you eat something now?"

Heyes shrugged.

"What about some beans and ham? Maybe some cornbread?"

"Okay."

"Well then, don't just sit there! Let's get to work!"

Heyes smiled at the thought of having something to do and followed him into the kitchen.


	17. Chapter 17

That night, Heyes couldn't sleep.

He'd slept too long during the day; Curry was right, sleeping so long in the chair left his back stiff and painful. He lay in bed for a while before he decided to get up - lying there sleepless was making his head ache . One thing hadn't changed at least, his cousin still slept soundly. He winced as he stood and put weight on his leg and pressure on his back. He waited for a moment until he adjusted to the pain, reached for his cane, and made his way back to the window. This time he positioned a pillow behind his back as he stared out at the night sky.

Curry saw him there the next morning. Heyes' brown eyes turned towards his partner as he heard him stir.

"Jeez, Heyes, one warnin' about sleepin' in that chair wasn't enough?"

"Wanted to look outside."

Curry suddenly realized how little he knew about where Heyes had been. "Was there a window in your cell?"

"A small slit, high up. Didn't let in much light."

"How could you read?"

Heyes shrugged and grimaced as a bolt of pain shot through him. "Wasn't anything to read."

Curry frowned. "No books?"

"We were only allowed a Bible."

Curry grinned. "Did you read it?"

His partner gave an answering smile. "Tried to. The print was small and it was hard to read in it that light."

"You always loved to read, you must have missed it."

Heyes looked a million miles away. "I missed everything. It was just one more thing."

Curry didn't know what to say. "Well, now you're out of there and can read whenever you want."

Heyes gave a strained smile and his eyes slid away. Curry watched him, confused, and thought back to the day before.

"I haven't even shown you around yet! You don't know where the books are, do you?"

Heyes shook his head.

"Why didn't you say something? So yesterday, you just sat in the chair all day and looked out of the window?"

Curry was already feeling bad about the previous day. Not only had Heyes been alone all day, but the Kid hadn't been there to see that he ate something. He knew that Heyes wasn't really eating right now and he knew he needed to watch his partner more closely.

Now, in addition to that, Curry was annoyed that he hadn't thought to show Heyes around the house before this. He'd lived there for so long now that he'd forgotten that it was all new to Heyes. Now he thought about it, Heyes hadn't been any farther than the kitchen when he'd been here the first time. Mary hadn't invited him to spend any time socializing with them. Curry felt bad that he hadn't realized it before.

He stood up, determined. "Come on, get dressed. I'll show you where everything is."

As he hurried to get ready, Heyes washed and dressed, slowly and stiffly.

"Back hurting?"

"A little."

"Do you need anything for the pain?"

"No. It's not that bad." Heyes wasn't going to mention that it was his head that was bothering him now.

Curry nodded but noticed the lines of pain on his partner's face. He made a mental note to keep a closer eye on him today.

He took Heyes around the house and showed him everything, even going so far as to open drawers and closets. He was determined to make Heyes feel as if this was his home.

"Okay, so now you know where everything is, you wanna get some breakfast?"

* * *

They ate in companionable silence, the newly silent Hannibal Heyes and the always hungry Kid Curry. Heyes smiled as he watched his cousin eat. At least there was one constant in the universe.

At the end of the meal, Curry pushed away his plate contentedly. He was pleased to see that Heyes had actually eaten almost half of the food on his plate.

Glancing out of the window, he said, "Looks like a nice morning. Let's drink our coffee on the porch."

He led the way to the rockers on the porch and they felt the air, cool and fresh as they drank their coffee.

"I was thinking, I know your back is hurtin' you some, but d'you think you'd like to go for a ride? I could saddle up the horses."

Despite misgivings about his ability to ride anymore, Heyes smiled a genuine smile at the thought of it. "Yeah, I'd like that."

There was a sound of footsteps and Heyes pushed himself back into his chair, as though he could hide from view.

"Mornin', Jed, Heyes."

"Hey, Bill."

"Sorry Jed, but we weren't sure what it was you wanted us to do about the barn roof. I've a feelin' there might be some weather coming in, so I think we need to get it done today."

"Yeah, I know. I'll come and look at it. Heyes, you wanna come with me and meet the guys?"

Heyes shook his head, silent again.

"Will you wait here for me until I get back? I won't be gone long, it's not going to be like yesterday. We just gotta get it done or we'll lose everything when the weather changes."

Heyes kept his voice low and spoke quietly to the Kid. "I know. Don't worry."

Curry raised an eyebrow. "I thought you liked it when I worry about you! Don't you always say I look after you better?"

Heyes gave a genuine smile then, recognizing his own words. "Yeah, I guess I do."

"Good! Glad we got that settled!" He squeezed Heyes' shoulder. "Sun feels real good and if Bill says there weather coming in, who knows when we'll get another nice day? Just relax here awhile and I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?"

"Okay."

Curry walked away with his foreman. He couldn't help taking another look at his friend as he sat on the porch.

Bill followed his glance. "Seems a mite skittish."

"Yep."

"Don't remember him bein' like that before."

"He wasn't. Used to talk the hind legs off a donkey. We'd be ridin' along and he'd talk the whole time. Used to wish he'd shut up, just for ten whole minutes. Now I'd give anything just to hear him ramble on about some stupid thing."

"Guess it makes sense he's not feeling too confident right now. Shouldn't worry too much, I reckon he just needs some time. Needs to start feelin' like hisself again."

Curry looked back one more time. His partner was sitting forward in the chair, not relaxing, but nervously waiting for him to come back.

* * *

Heyes shifted in his chair as the minutes passed. He didn't like being out there without his cousin beside him, it wasn't safe. He wanted to go back inside, but the Kid had told him to wait there, so he would wait.

Without his cousin beside him to distract him, Heyes couldn't help but notice that besides his throbbing head, his throat felt scratchy and sore. He cursed inwardly; he wasn't going to get sick now. It was bad enough that everyone was already treating him like an invalid.

His heart started to race as he heard footsteps. He shrank back as three of the ranch hands walked across the far side of the yard. He recognized Micky, but not the other two. Their conversation drifted over to him on the morning air.

"That him? Hannibal Heyes?"

"Must be."

Mickey looked over at the porch. "Yeah, that's him."

He raised his hand in greeting and Heyes raised his hesitantly in reply. Micky wanted to go over and say hello, but Bill said they should wait. Micky was disappointed, but he guessed could understand that Heyes might want to spend a little time with his cousin first.

Dan echoed his thoughts. "Funny that he ain't come to meet the rest of us, seems a little standoffish. He's gonna be the new hand, right?"

"Yeah, I reckon."

They'd all heard about the fire, of course, but they assumed Heyes must have recovered by now. It had been months ago.

"He gonna be with the rest of us in the bunkhouse?"

Mickey shrugged. "Boss hasn't said, but I guess so. He was before."

"Yeah? Kinda scrawny, ain't he? You think he's gonna be gettin' his hands dirty with the rest of us? Looks to me like he's gonna be thinkin' he's above us just cause he's the boss' friend. Look at him, sittin' there sunnin' hisself like he's the king o' Colorada, while the rest of us are breakin' our backs fixin' that damned barn!"

"Dan's right. You sure he's gonna know he's just another ranch hand and no better 'n the rest of us, just cause him an' the boss were once partners? Don't need to be workin' extra carryin' him!"

Mickey shushed them in annoyance. "He's a good guy, he's not like that!"

He looked over to see if Heyes had heard anything. Heyes was staring off into the distance and looked a million miles away.

* * *

Heyes sat on the porch, his mind racing.

He hadn't thought about what his position at the ranch would be. He hadn't thought he would ever live as a free man again and then everything had happened so fast. One minute he'd been working in his office at the prison and then suddenly he was free again. He hadn't given a thought to his future; he was still trying to adjust to the idea that he had one.

Although he didn't know what happened with Mary, he'd been happy to see that Jed had taken over the running of the ranch and seemed to be making a success of it. He was proud to think that his cousin was doing so well.

It seemed natural for Kid to collect him and bring him back here, but now he realized this was the Kid's home, not his. The Kid had been making a whole new life for himself for the past three years. Heyes thought how naive he had been to assume that their old partnership would continue just the same.

It made sense to him that the Kid would be his boss now. No, he thought, _Jed -_ he wasn't the Kid anymore, everyone called him Jed. It was Jed's ranch and he was in charge now. He had earned that right.

Heyes had been away from things for too long and couldn't seem to cope with the simplest things anymore. Just look at the problems he'd had just ordering breakfast. Heck, with the problems he was having, he should be grateful that Curry wanted him there at all.

He must remember not to expect any special favors.

He wiped at his forehead; he was sweating, although his skin felt chilled.

He wondered what he should do. Kid had told him to stay there and wait for him, but he still hadn't returned. Heyes was starting to worry about sitting there doing nothing as the time went on, especially since everyone else seemed to be working hard.

The ranch hands were right, a small operation like this one couldn't afford to support anyone who didn't carry their weight. He couldn't think about what he would do if the Kid decided that Heyes was too much of a liability and sent him away.

He made up his mind and went back into the kitchen to clean up the breakfast things. As he worked, he considered what he should do next. He wasn't ready to go and help the others work on the barn, he just couldn't.

He felt sick at the thought of having to sleep with them in the bunkhouse. How could he protect himself if there were people all around him? Maybe the Kid would let him sleep in the barn, away from the others. He'd be happy there with the horses. He'd have to watch his back, though. Maybe he could fix a lock to one of the stable doors…

He felt a wave of homesickness for his old cell, where he was safely locked in every night. He could sleep there and be safe, knowing that no-one could get to him. He was suddenly angry; he hadn't wanted to leave and hadn't asked to be brought here. He'd been safe at the prison, once he could be on his own. He hadn't felt safe for a moment since he'd been released, not once.

He pressed his fingers against his throbbing temples. His head felt fuzzy and he was finding it hard to concentrate.

He knew the Kid must be disappointed in him and that was the worst thing. Heyes wished that he'd never been pardoned, that he could have stayed where he was and Kid would never have seen him like this, a coward who could barely talk to people he'd known for years.

How could he convince Kid to keep him around when he couldn't even speak to anyone?

As he looked around the freshly cleaned kitchen, he saw there was no firewood. He knew where the wood pile was, perhaps he could chop some wood. They would need some and everyone else was far too busy for a mundane task like that.

He was a little worried about whether he would be able to do it. He hadn't done any physical work since Jack Nichols and his gang had beaten him, and he was stiff and sore from sitting for so long in the rocking chair. Well, the Kid had told him not to, it was his own fault.

Heyes had been concerned about whether or not he could ride a horse, but he'd wanted to so much that he thought he could do it. So, if he thought he could ride because he wanted to, then it stood to reason that he could grit his teeth and chop wood if he needed to.

He headed for the door, but before he stepped out, he walked back to the kitchen and pulled a knife from the drawer. He clutched it tightly as he checked outside and took a deep, steadying breath before he left the safety of the kitchen.

The wood pile was behind the house and he imagined everyone was busy with the work on the barn anyway. Seeing no-one about, he walked back to the wood pile, staying close to the house the whole way. An axe sat ready, hefted into the chopping block.

Heyes put down his knife and looked around. He rolled a block of wood into position beneath the knee of his bad leg to steady himself. He wasn't going to be able to lean against his cane if he was hefting an axe and he still couldn't stand very well without it. He wouldn't be able to do this quickly, but at least he would get it done.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead. He remembered being chilly before, but now it seemed ridiculously hot. He took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves.

He grabbed the axe by the handle and pulled it free. A jolt of pain ran through his shoulder and back at the effort. Well, perhaps a little exercise was just what he needed. He gritted his teeth against the pain and began to work.


	18. Chapter 18

It had taken Curry a lot longer than he'd thought to tell the men what he needed. Once he'd explained to them what it was he wanted them to do, they'd had more questions about how they should do it.

He wished Heyes could talk to them. Heyes was always good at explaining things to people in a way they could understand. Heck, he'd managed to get the Devil's Hole gang - a bunch not overly burdened with brains - to perform amazing feats of timing and coordination and he'd made it seem so easy.

In the end, Curry had shown them himself and they'd worked on it together for a little while. Finally, all their questions had been answered and he was free to head back at last.

He was worried about leaving Heyes for so long yet again, especially since the weather had changed and it was now much cooler and starting to rain. He hoped Heyes hadn't waited too long to go back inside when the clouds had come over. Perhaps he'd even taken the chance to catch up on some much-needed sleep. He hoped so; Heyes looked worn out.

He was glad to see that Heyes wasn't on the porch when he returned. Once again, he didn't see anyone in the kitchen or parlor, so he walked back to the bedroom. He was surprised not to find him there. He quickly checked the rest of the small house, noticing the cleaned and tidied kitchen. He frowned and walked back to the porch. Had he gone for a walk?

He could hear the sounds of someone chopping wood, but it didn't sound the way it usually did. The rhythm was slower, a longer pause than usual between strikes.

Cold dread gripped him. He tried to tell himself that there was no way Heyes was doing that. He could barely stand! But if it wasn't him, then who was back there? He followed the sound and froze as he watched his partner heft the axe and then grimace as he drew it back, ready to strike. As it cut the wood, he heard a small gasp of pain.

"Heyes!"

Startled, Heyes whirled around, his eyes round with panic. As he turned, he brought the axe across his body in a protective gesture. He relaxed when he saw who it was.

Curry moved forward and pulled the axe away from him. "What the hell d'ya think you're doin'?"

Heyes eyes widened in surprise and he tried to find the right words. He wasn't sure what he'd done to make his cousin so angry, but he could feel it radiating off him.

"I… I..."

Curry was too angry to see the effect his outburst had on his friend. "I told you to sit and wait for me!"

Curry had always had a quick temper and right now he was furious that Heyes had been hurting himself by chopping wood, instead of relaxing as he'd hoped. He'd wanted Heyes to be able to take a little time to rest and build himself up; but here he was, on only his second day here, dripping with sweat and looking exhausted, very clearly in a great deal of pain.

It was only when he drove the axe back into the stump that he saw Heyes flinch and he realized how anxious Heyes was. He forced himself to calm down.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Heyes. I just didn't want you to hurt yourself."

Heyes watched him nervously and made no answer.

Curry realized that it was properly raining now and they were both getting soaked to the skin. He took another steadying breath.

"Come on, let's get back inside."

Heyes moved ahead of him, limping heavily, his head down like a schoolboy about to be reprimanded. Curry reached out to help him, but Heyes shied away from his touch. Curry stepped back a little, making sure he was there to support Heyes if he needed help, but giving him the space he seemed to want.

Once they were back in the kitchen, Curry pulled out a chair.

"Sit down and take off your shirt."

Slowly and painstakingly, Heyes removed his shirt and undershirt. He was visibly shaking again, as if expecting some kind of punishment. Curry couldn't believe his reaction - did Heyes think he was going to be beaten because he chopped some wood? Why was he acting this way? Even with all the changes he had gone through at the prison, so far he had retained his trust in his partner.

"Heyes, calm down. I'm not goin' to hurt you. You're soaked and we need to get you warm and dry again. Don't you remember what the doctor said about not catchin' a chill? How much pain are you in?"

Heyes shook his head, but when Curry handed him a cloth, he saw Heyes wince as he tried to dry himself. Curry grabbed another towel and knelt down to dry his friend's back. He heard Heyes draw in a breath as he touched it.

"This is gonna feel twice as bad tomorrow! You couldn't just rest like I told you?"

Heyes lowered his head and Curry sighed in frustration.

"Dammit, Heyes, I'm angry because I'm worried about you!" He pulled him forward in a hug. He lifted Heyes' chin and brushed a lock of sweat soaked hair out of his eyes.

"Why d'you do it? I wanted you to rest!"

He moved away to find him something dry to wear, but stopped as Heyes answered.

"I...I needed to do s..something. I s..should... be w..w..working."

He was stuttering, but whether it was from nerves or from the cold, Curry didn't know.

"Workin'? Why? Heyes, you're not makin' any sense!"

"I..if I'm going to w..work for you… I need to s..start somewhere!"

Curry stared at him in confusion. "What do you mean, work for me? Of course you're not going to work for me!"

He heard a sound in the yard and looked quickly out of the window.

"Don't move! I want to see if Bill has any liniment, I'll be right back."

Heyes sat waiting, shivering without his shirt. He thought about what his cousin had said - 'Of course you're not going to work for me!'.

Heyes had misunderstood. Evidently, the ranch hands had been wrong.

He thought that he could stay here and work, but it seemed the Kid had already decided he didn't want him. Heyes couldn't blame him - the injuries he had sustained in the fire had not left him good for much. He was lame and his back was constantly giving him pain. Of course his cousin wouldn't want him to work on his ranch. He was making a success of things here, he couldn't afford to take on a charity case like Heyes.

As Curry came back inside, Heyes stood up.

"I'm s..sorry, I m..misunders..stood. I t..hought..."

Curry was mystified by his cousins behaviour and worried as he noticed that the stuttering was getting worse.

"Misunderstood what?"

"I t..thought I could stay here...I'm s..sorry, I got it w..wrong."

Curry's eyes widened.

"Heyes! You aren't makin' any sense... Of course you're stayin' here! Why wouldn't you?"

"You s..said I c..couldn't w..work for you..."

Heyes shivered again and swayed as his exhaustion began to catch up with him. Curry reached out to steady him and sat him back in the chair. The door opened and Bill came in holding a jar.

"Got the liniment."

Curry reached out for it.

"Thanks. Seems Heyes decided to chop some firewood. Could you go and grab a blanket?"

Curry put a couple of fingers in the jar and began to rub the liniment gently over Heyes' back and shoulders.

Bill came back and placed the blanket on the table next to Heyes. "Micky was telling me that he a couple of the guys were in the yard earlier and he was worried that Heyes might have overheard them talking."

Bill watched Heyes' face as he spoke and saw that he had. Curry broke off his ministrations and looked up.

"What were they sayin'?"

"They were wondering why the new hand wasn't working yet and whether he thought he was going to get special treatment, on account of bein' the boss' friend."

"Wait... what? What did they mean, new hand?"

"Heyes. They was wonderin' when he's gonna move into the bunkhouse and start workin'."

For a moment, Curry was too shocked to speak. Now he, too, looked at Heyes and saw what Bill had seen. He heard the rest of the hands walking back to the bunkhouse and he rushed outside. Bill swore and quickly followed, while Heyes threw on his damp shirt and jacket and grabbed his cane. However timid he was on his own account, he would always be there for the Kid.

* * *

When Heyes got to the front door, he found the argument already in full swing. He knew he was going to have to intervene. The Kid was always liable to let things escalate when his temper got the better of him and right now he was furious.

"...So I want to know right now, which one of you was talkin' about my partner?"

Bill was trying to diffuse the situation and calm things down, but Curry brushed him aside.

Dan flared up in response. "Weren't saying nothin' that couldn't be repeated. Just wonderin' why the new guy was sunnin' hisself on the porch when there's work to be done. That's what he's here for, ain't it?"

Heyes swallowed and once again left the safety of the house. Trying not to look at what seemed like a crowd of people, he limped over to his partner. He was aware of the silence and the stares as the ranch hands noticed his slow progress with the cane and got a look at him for the first time.

He kept his head down. He hated being surrounded by all these people and it didn't help that two of them were shouting and obviously about to fight. Kid had always relied on Heyes to help him control his temper and stop him from doing something stupid. Heyes wasn't going to let him down now, whatever it cost him.

"Kid..."

Curry was too angry to even hear him.

"Who the hell gave you the right to say who should be workin' and when? You think you're the boss now, is that it?"

"I was jus' talkin', don't know why you're gittin' so mad. What did he tell you I said anyway?

'Cause whatever it was, he musta bin lyin'. Everyone knows he's the biggest liar in the whole o' the west anyhow!"

Heyes, recognizing that he had to stop this, reached out for the Kid just as the Kid pulled back his fist to strike Dan. Dan, seeing the blow coming, raised his fist to do the same.

Both fists flew at once; it was impossible to tell which one was responsible for the heavy blow to the jaw that knocked Heyes to the ground. They both stopped and stared, frozen in horror, at the man lying before them in the dirt.

Heyes lay on his back, seeing stars. As if his head didn't already feel bad enough, he thought. He put a hand to the ground and tried to push himself up. He had to get away from there.

A lightning bolt of pain shot through him at the movement. He gave a small gasp and lay there for a minute, waiting for it to pass. To his embarrassment, he found he couldn't move. The earlier exercise, combined with this was causing his back to spasm and he had to grit his teeth against the pain.

Curry knelt by his side. "Oh God, Heyes, I'm so sorry."

"'S okay." The words were slurred, his mouth already beginning to swell.

"Come on, let's get you up." He reached out his hand, but Heyes gently shook his head.

"C..can't. Back."

"Damn! Okay, stay there."

Despite everything, Heyes almost laughed at the redundancy of the remark.

"P..planning to."

Curry couldn't help but give a small smile in return at his partner's attempt at humor. He turned to the men. "Okay, everybody back to the bunkhouse. We'll clear this up later."

Dan stepped forward. "Hey, I didn't..."

"Later, I said!"

They filed away and Curry turned back to Heyes.

Bill was kneeling beside him. "Do you think you could stand if we help ya?"

Heyes bit his lip and considered for a moment. "I d..don't t..think so."

Curry realized that it was still softly raining, and the stuttering reminded him they needed to get Heyes inside quickly and get him warm.

"There's no choice, we've got to get you indoors. I'm sorry, this is going to hurt."

He put his arm under Heyes' shoulders and began to lift him. Heyes moaned as pain shot through him and the world went black for a few moments. Curry quickly got him into the house, Bill following with the cane.

Once inside, they laid him on the bed. His face was white and he was gritting his teeth against the pain. He reached for Curry's wrist. "Laudanum."

Curry was surprised. "I thought it made you sick?"

"N..need it."

Curry ran into the kitchen and grabbed the bottle the doctor had left. He poured out a small amount and handed it to Heyes, who drank it quickly.

After a few minutes he slipped into unconsciousness. Curry stripped him out of his wet things and found something of his own that Heyes could wear, making a mental note to buy him some more clothes and dig out Heyes' old things. So far, he hadn't had time.

Satisfied that his partner was warm, dry and sleeping, he went back to the kitchen to talk to Bill.

* * *

Bill spoke first. "What happened out there earlier?"

"What d'you mean?"

"When you went out there, yelled at the men and got into a fistfight with Dan?"

"They shouldn't have been talkin' 'bout Heyes like that! That was why he was choppin' the wood, he thought he needed to be workin'!"

"They were just wonderin' about the new hand. You bin sayin' you was hirin' a new hand, and then Heyes is released and you bring him back here. Guys naturally assumed he was the new guy."

"He's my partner!"

"Is he?" Bill looked at him speculatively.

"Yes. We've always been partners."

Bill shook his head. "No, you haven't. The last time you were both here, you slept in the house and you and the boss called each other 'Thaddeus' and 'Mary'. Heyes slept in the bunkhouse with the rest of us and called her 'Mrs. Adams'. You gave the orders while we took 'em. You didn't say it'd be any different this time. The boys were expecting him to live in the bunkhouse and work as a hand, just like he did before."

Curry opened his mouth and then closed it again. He hadn't even considered that. He suddenly felt ashamed. Bill was right. Before, he was living with Mary like he was her husband and he had treated Heyes like he was just another worker. He'd enjoyed being the boss and, if he was honest, he'd enjoyed telling Heyes what to do for a change.

But so much had happened since then. It sickened him that they thought he would send Heyes - his partner, the great and legendary Hannibal Heyes, the man who raised him single handedly since they were children - to live in the bunkhouse with everybody else and work for him as ranch hand.

Then he realized what else Bill was saying. "You think Heyes thinks that? That I brought him here to work for me?"

"You tell him any different?"

"No, but..." He stopped, and thought back to their conversation.

'If I'm going to work for you…' That was what Heyes had said. Heyes really believed that he was going to make him live in the bunkhouse and work as his employee. He thought of rest of the conversation. 'Of course you're not going to work for me!', and Heyes' comment, 'I thought I could stay here…'

Why had he assumed that Heyes would know that they were partners in this as in everything else? Their lives had diverged more than three years ago and while Hannibal Heyes had paid the price for their misdeeds, Kid Curry had gone on to make a success of his life. Heyes obviously assumed that the partnership was over now and the Kid might be ready to throw him out on his own, now that they'd both moved on.

That was why Heyes had been trying to chop wood and make himself useful.

Kid Curry felt sick to his stomach. "I didn't think..."

"I know, that's why I'm talking to ya. We all need to know what Heyes' new position will be and he needs to know it too."


	19. Chapter 19

When Curry went back to check on him a little later, he realized that Heyes was still sweating. He brushed the hair from Heyes' forehead and felt heat beneath his hand. He'd thought earlier that it was from the exercise; now he recognized the signs of a fever.

"Dammit!"

He went back to the kitchen and poured some water into a bowl. Taking a cloth, he began to wipe over his partner's face and neck. After about an hour Heyes' temperature was still high and he hadn't stirred.

Curry quickly made a decision and hurried to the bunkhouse. Minutes later, he heard Micky riding off to fetch the doctor.

When he heard the sound of horses in the yard an hour or so later, he breathed a sigh of relief and ran outside to meet them.

"Doc Brown, thanks for coming!"

"Not at all, Jed. What seems to be the problem?"

"It's Heyes. He's sick."

"What happened?"

"He was out in the rain tryin' to chop firewood."

Doc Brown looked at him sharply, but said nothing.

"I had to leave him for a little while. When I got back, I found him out there barely able to lift the axe. Then - well, there was an argument and he got in the middle of it. He got knocked down and hurt his back, then he took some laudanum and passed out. When I checked on him a little later, I noticed he had a fever."

The doctor tried to make sense of all of that. "He took laudanum?"

"Yeah, he asked for it. He was really in pain."

Curry walked back into the bedroom as he was talking and Doc Brown followed him. The doctor immediately walked over to the bed and started checking on the patient.

"What happened to his face?"

Curry looked down, shamefaced. "He got punched during the argument."

"He was fighting with someone?"

"No. I was arguin' with Dan and he tried to pull me away."

"And you hit him?" The doctor's tone was incredulous.

"No. I don't know... One of us did. Like I said, he got in the middle."

"Hmm. When did the fever start?"

"I'm not sure. He seemed okay this mornin'."

"He's probably been fighting a bug for a while. I warned you that he had a higher temperature, if you remember, and told you both that he needed to take care." There was an edge of recrimination to the doctor's voice. "Once he over exerted himself he obviously couldn't fight it anymore."

He continued his examination. "Surprised he could chop wood, must have hurt like the devil."

"Always was a stubborn cuss."

"How could he even do it? Support himself without his cane, I mean?" Doc couldn't help but be curious.

"He was kneeling on another log to take the weight off his leg."

"Huh! Clever."

Curry snorted as he looked at his unconscious partner. "Yeah, he's real clever!"

The doctor nodded. "Fever's not too bad yet, hopefully we caught it in time. Keep doing what you're doing," he indicated the cloth and bowl.

"Try to give him plenty of water and see if you can get him to eat. If nothing else, see if he can manage some broth or soup. Keep him warm and make sure he rests this time. No wood chopping or fighting if he can possibly avoid it." It was impossible to miss the sarcasm in the doctor's tone.

Curry glared at him but couldn't deny that he hadn't done a great job of keeping Heyes safe and well so far.

"I'll come back in the morning and check on him."

"Thanks, Doc."

* * *

For the rest of the day, Curry sat by the bedside looking after his partner. Close to midnight, he'd started to doze when he heard a sound. Starting up, he glanced at his partner as Heyes' groaned and his eyelids started to flutter.

"Hey, partner. You gonna wake up for me?"

His partner looked up at him and licked dry lips. "Gonna be sick."

Curry quickly grabbed a bowl and Heyes proceeded to empty his stomach. He lay back, wincing.

"Let me get you some water."

He held it to the dry lips as Heyes drank thirstily. "Thanks."

He looked around. "Wha' happened?"

"You passed out. You have a fever, so it was either that or the laudanum. How are you feelin' now?"

Heyes paused for a moment to consider. "Fine."

"You're a lousy liar when you're sick. How are you feelin', Heyes?"

Heyes sighed. "Tired. Hurt everywhere."

"Anything else?"

"Headache. Thirsty. 'S hot in here."

Curry frowned. It was a cold night and even with a fire, the room was a little chilly.

"I'll get you some more water. Think you could manage some broth?" Curry was concerned that Heyes hadn't eaten anything since breakfast.

"Too tired..."

"Let's get some broth into you, then you can sleep some more."

Heyes' eyes were already starting to close. "'Kay..."

Ten minutes later Kid returned to find Heyes sleeping deeply. "Heyes... come on, wake up."

Heyes opened bleary eyes.

"Come on, Heyes, you've got to get something in your stomach."

"No..." He tried to turn away and sleep again, but Curry grabbed his shoulder and shook him.

"You're not gettin' back to sleep until I've got this into you, so it's your choice how long we discuss this!"

Heyes sighed and allowed Kid to lift him and press the mug to his lips. He drank slowly, still half asleep, but finished the drink.

"Sleep now?"

"Sure Heyes. Sleep now."

He slept peacefully for the rest of the night, with Curry making him drink as much as possible whenever he woke up. His mouth had swollen where he had been hit, and Curry felt guilty every time Heyes winced when the mug was brought to his lips.

* * *

Heyes woke early the next morning to find himself lying in a comfortable bed with the Kid sleeping by his side. There was a brief moment of disorientation as he tried to remember where he was. It came back to him in a rush.

He moved to sit up and stopped with a hiss as his body protested the movement.

Curry stirred beside him, sitting up and running his hands through his curly hair. "Mornin' partner! How ya feelin?"

"Fine." Even trying to make light of things, it was the best he could do. He felt as though he'd been run over by a pack of horses.

"Great! So, what's it going to be today? Breakin' horses, brandin' cattle or helpin' us put the roof on the barn? Kinda like to know so I can be prepared."

Heyes glared at him.

"So, how are you really feelin'?"

Heyes sighed. "If I was a horse, you'd shoot me."

Curry looked at him critically. "You look a little better, 'cept for your face. That's a hell of a bruise." He put his hand to his partners forehead. "Fever's gone down. Doc says we might have caught it in time."

"Doc? I don't remember..."

"You wouldn't, you were unconscious."

Heyes looked confused. "How long was I out?"

"Since yesterday afternoon. You hungry?"

Heyes shook his head.

"Doesn't matter, you're eatin' breakfast anyway. You're nothin' but skin and bones." He cast another critical look at his cousin. "Just rest a while and I'll go get some food."

"No, I can..." Heyes started to push himself up.

"Relax, Heyes. I'll be right back."

As soon as he'd left the room, Heyes moved to sit up. His body ached everywhere, but he had to try to get up. He couldn't believe that he'd got sick almost as soon as he'd arrived.

'Great work, Heyes,' he thought to himself. 'Good job showing everyone that you really are completely useless!'

He held onto the bedpost and pushed himself onto his feet. The world swam for a few moments as pain shot through him. He could see his clothes - the clothes his cousin had to buy for him - hanging over a chair across the room. They might have been a million miles away.

He gritted his teeth and tried to take a step forward. His head was spinning and he couldn't see his cane anywhere. He grabbed hold of a nearby chair to steady himself. He was breathing heavily and sweating from the exertion.

He looked around the room again, but still couldn't see his cane. He pushed the chair forward a little on the floor and it scratched against the wood. He continued forward slowly that way, using the chair as a prop until he reached his clothes. He was just reaching for them when the door banged open.

"Okay, I got eggs, ham, flapjacks..." Curry stopped suddenly as he saw Heyes standing across the room. "What the hell are you doin'? I told you to stay in bed!"

He saw Heyes blanch and grip the chair tighter. "I… I thought..."

Curry realized that yelling orders at his cousin was the last thing he should be doing. He put down the tray of food and reached out for Heyes, and was unhappy to see him flinch away.

"Heyes, you can barely stand. You've been real sick and you need to rest up some. Let me help you back to bed, okay?"

Heyes swallowed and nodded, defeated. His head was still spinning. Curry put an arm around his waist and led him back to the bed. Heyes climbed in without a word.

"I'm sorry Heyes, but dammit, what do I have to do with you? Tie you to the bed? You gotta take it easy for a while!"

Heyes nodded again but didn't meet his eyes. Curry was starting to hate these silent nods. He built up the pillows behind Heyes and placed the tray on his lap.

"Will you try and eat something? Please?"

Heyes tried to smile and lifted his fork. He gingerly put a small forkful of eggs into his mouth and began to chew as if it was a punishment.

Curry sighed. He didn't know what to do; he didn't know how to deal with this silent, nervous Heyes who jumped at everything. Heyes was the one who was good at talking, not him.

Halfway through the eggs, Heyes put down his fork. "I'm sorry, I can't."

Curry looked at the barely touched food in dismay, but decided he'd bullied his cousin enough for one day. He plastered a fake smile on his face.

"Okay, Heyes, that's fine. At least you tried. Guess I'll have no problem finishin' the rest!"

Heyes smiled in response, a ghost of his old smile. Curry sat opposite him on the bed, making short work of the remainder of the food.

They sat silently for a while until Curry threw down his fork and said, "Could ya just say something, Heyes? This silent treatment is makin' me crazy!"

Heyes searched around for something to say. He wasn't used to just talking anymore, he didn't know what to say or how to begin. He decided to say the first thing that he thought of.

"I couldn't find my cane."

Well, at least it was a start.

"It's a good thing. I'd have probably found you outside diggin' ditches."

They shared a smile.

This time Curry broke the silence. "I didn't know that she'd talked to you. I didn't know what she asked you to do."

Heyes looked startled at the outburst. "I know."

It came out too fast, too insincere. It didn't matter how easily Heyes could fool the rest of the world, Curry always knew when his cousin was lying.

"You weren't sure, though, were you? You really thought I'd want that?"

"You loved her. Love changes people."

"Yeah, it changed me. It made me act like an ass and pretend to be your boss while you slept in the bunkhouse with the other guys. It didn't change me enough that I'd want you to go to jail for twenty years so I could be a rancher!"

"If I'd known they woulda taken that deal…" He trailed off. "I just thought that you'd be the one they wanted more, since you'd..." Heyes looked up suddenly, embarrassed. It was the longest sentence he'd uttered in over three years and he'd managed to call his cousin a murderer.

"Since I'd killed people. It's okay, Heyes, I know. I thought so too. Turns out nobody cares about the lives I took, since they were just no account people anyway. Doesn't matter that they had people who cared about them, mothers and fathers and girls who loved them. Nobody thinks it matters, 'cause I didn't upset the banks and the railroads."

He snorted in disgust. Heyes reached out and squeezed his hand. He knew how often the Kid thought about the people he'd shot.

"You never hurt anyone who didn't deserve it. You always tried to avoid it if you could."

"That prison nearly killed you and you didn't deserve it. That was my fault."

"Wasn't your fault. Made it better knowing that you'd be free… I wanted that for you."

"Doesn't make it feel right."

"You'd have felt the same way, if it was the other way 'round."

There was no answer to that; of course he would have. They would do anything for the other, that had always been true.

"And it turned out alright in the end. We're both of us free men now, nothing hanging over our heads, no more secrets."

Curry turned away. 'Turned out alright in the end?' When his cousin sat across from him, sick, skinny as a wraith, crippled and with a cough he was never going to get rid of? He thought things had turned out alright in the end?

Heyes read his mind in that uncanny way he had. He wasn't going to let his cousin feel bad about what had happened.

"We coulda been hanged by a lynch mob at any time. Or shot and killed. Or worse - the bounty was offered 'dead or alive'. Some of those bounty hunters can be pretty imaginative when it comes to killing. They took it real personal that we kept slipping through their fingers."

"Yeah. After what happened the other day, I guess we both know that."

"That wasn't your fault either. It was just bad luck."

Heyes was talking to him, they were having a real conversation at last, it felt like old times…

He decided it was time to tell Heyes everything that had happened while he been gone.


	20. Chapter 20

Kid Curry cleared his throat. "Mary collected the reward."

Heyes nodded. "I know. Hamilton told me."

"I didn't know. Didn't even know that you were in jail until six weeks later. I met Wheat and Kyle in the saloon and Wheat decked me. He'd heard that she'd collected the reward and thought Mary and I had cooked up the plan between us."

He almost missed the brief flash in Heyes' eyes.

"Of course we didn't! Jeez, Heyes!"

Heyes blushed. He hadn't really thought Kid would, but there were times when he had wondered. There were so many months when he had lain awake on his prison cot and tried to imagine what Kid had known and when. He had been so besotted with her. It seemed impossible that it could have been nearly two months before he knew anything...

This time it was Curry's turn to read Heyes mind. "You know I never used look at the newspapers unless we were looking for work. You always read out the things I'd be interested in. Mary kept me away from town and no-one said anything to me; in fact, no-one said anything at all."

"Seems everybody knew about the reward 'cept me. People hated me in this town, no-one would give either of us the time of day. Mary said it was because we were livin' in sin, but that didn't make sense to me. I mean, why would the saloon girls and Queenie care if we were sinful? Then after Wheat decked me - he's got a good right hook, by the way - they told me about the money. The banker told everybody and they heard about the telegram she sent to the governor. They all thought I was in on it."

He saw Heyes watching him intently, listening to the story.

"I rode straight home and asked Mary about it. She told me what she'd done. Thought I was gonna be sick. I loved her, Heyes, I really did, but when she told me what she'd done, I couldn't look at her again and not see your face as you were leavin'. I wanted to leave right then, but she told me she was in the family way."

He saw a question in Heyes' eyes.

"It was a lie. But I didn't know it then, I had to marry her. If that kid was mine, he was gonna have a real pa to raise him."

"I thought she lost the baby. That brought us closer again for a while; I felt so sorry for us both. Damn near broke my heart, to think of my child…"

He stopped, unable to go on for a moment.

Heyes squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry."

"Thanks. I know it wasn't real, but it felt real enough at the time and, when I think of it, I just remember… Anyway, it was real to me."

He rubbed his eye with the heel of his hand, reminding Heyes of when they were little and the Kid hadn't wanted his older brothers to see him crying.

"I never touched her again, though. Not after I found out 'bout you. I guess she thought I'd come 'round, but when I didn't… Well, she turned as mean as a polecat and came to hate me as much as I hated her, maybe more. I honestly thought we'd live like that forever. I've done a lot of things wrong in my life, Heyes, but I wasn't goin' to break marriage vows made in a house of God and blacken my name, not when I'd just got it cleared. I also had an idea that she shouldn't get away with it, y'know? If you and I had to suffer, then she should too."

"Well, it seems that right about the time you were rushing into that fire to save those kids, a few people were starting to wonder about the governor and his financial success. Seems they were investigatin' him when we heard about the fire. When I went to see Lom, Hamilton sent a letter to Mary tellin' her about everythin' that was goin' on with him. It was a few weeks later that it all came to a head."

"One night I woke up to hear voices. When I came out here, I found Mary and Charles talkin'. When I asked them what was going on, they told me everythin'. He was headin' to Mexico with all that cash for a fresh start. Heyes, you shoulda seen it. He had bags stuffed with cash and jewels - even had gold coins, for pete's sake. No idea how much was in there, but it was plenty. He decided he didn't need his wife anymore, all the good connections in the world weren't gonna help him. But he wanted Mary to go with him. Seems they weren't JUST cousins after all."

"Turns out, they were kissin' cousins. REAL kissin' cousins. Before their marriages, they were lovers."

He looked up to see Heyes' reaction. It was exactly as he'd imagined.

"Yep, it was shock to me too. When Charles Hamilton met Anne, they decided it was too good an opportunity to pass up. He married Anne for her money and connections and Mary met Harold and did the same thing. They'd meet each other a few times a year and carried on an affair. Only time she cancelled was when she met me. Seems she did love me, after all. In her way."

He cast a wry smile at his friend and caught him in the middle of a yawn.

"Hey, you're tired, I should let you sleep some more. We can carry on with this later."

"No, please. I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I want to hear what happened."

"So anyway, since everything had gone so wrong for both of them, they decided to run away together. I'll be honest, I wasn't really sure how I felt about it at the time. She was the first woman I'd ever really loved; but it had all been corrupted and poisoned along the way. I guess there was some part of me that felt a little sad about the way things had turned out."

"It's natural. You loved her, I know, and she loved you; she wouldn't have done what she did otherwise."

"I don't think she really knew anything about love. She only knew what she wanted and how to get it."

Heyes hated to see the sadness in the Kid's eyes.

"They say love is blind, don't they? I sure was. She wasn't the woman I thought she was. It wasn't just what she did to you. When she was talking about the people I've killed, she just dismissed them as 'unimportant nobodies'. She was like that. The only things that mattered were her and the things - and people - she wanted. Everything else was unimportant."

"Anyway, I got angry. After everything she'd done, she just thought she could just walk away from it all and leave this mess behind her? She said I should be grateful to her, that if it wasn't for her I wouldn't be a free man..."

"She was right."

"Maybe. But I still wouldn't have sacrificed you to get it. I told her that. We argued back and forth for a while; things got pretty heated before Charles decided he'd heard enough. Time was getting on and they needed to long gone before dawn. I would've turned 'em in if I could, but I wasn't armed and he was. She held the gun on me while he tied me up."

"He said I should be grateful to them. Told me that after you rescued those kids, the public was clamourin' for your release and you had a chance of being pardoned. Once they were clear, the ranch would be mine. You'd have place to come back to, a home at last."

"She didn't like that, she didn't want to give me anythin'. I honestly think she'd have preferred to kill me there and then. But Charles didn't want a murder charge added to everything else. They were leavin' the country anyway, what did it matter? Compared to the money they had with them, the ranch was nothin'. So that's how I came to own the ranch."

Heyes grinned at him, but it quickly turned into a yawn. This time Curry couldn't ignore it.

"Alright, that's enough for now. Get some sleep, we're talk more later."

He helped Heyes lay down and watched as he fell asleep the moment his head touched the pillow. Heyes slept until the evening, then woke up groggy. He drank a little broth, but his eyes were closing again before he could even finish the mug.

* * *

Bill had been right with his predictions about the weather coming in. That night it snowed and the temperature dropped dramatically.

Curry slept with Heyes again, not wanting to leave him alone while he was sick. When the Kid woke up the next morning, he was dismayed to find that the sheets were damp with sweat and realized that heat was radiating off his partner. Heyes' fever had returned.

He shook him gently. "Heyes?"

Heyes stirred and turned towards him, his eyes dull and heavy. "Kid?"

His voice was dry and rasping. As he spoke, he started to cough. He felt a glass of water at his mouth and drained it thirstily. He couldn't get his thoughts straight, his head felt fuzzy and he was so cold.

"Kid?" He shivered and looked around him. The Kid had been right beside him, hadn't he?

"Right here, Heyes."

Heyes saw with surprise that the Kid was already dressed and putting on his boots. He came back to Heyes and leaned over him with concern. "You need something?"

It took Heyes a minute to respond, "'M cold."

"I know, you told me already."

"I did? When?" He remembered thinking it...

"About two minutes ago. Your fever's back, you keep drifting in and out. How do you feel besides cold?"

He tried to think. "Fuzzy."

"Yeah, you told me that too, but I figured it out already. Anything else? Heyes?"

There was no answer. Heyes had already drifted off again.

* * *

Heyes wasn't aware of the Kid leaving, but he suddenly found himself covered in a mound of blankets. He realized that the Kid was talking to him again.

"Heyes… can you hear me? Heyes, you need to sit up, okay?"

He nodded, but couldn't seem to make his body co-operate. He felt hands pull him into a sitting position and a mug was placed next to his mouth. He greedily drank every drop of the warm broth. His eyes started to close again as he felt himself being lowered back down. He fell asleep instantly.

Kid Curry swore to himself.

The snow had fallen heavily during the night and drifted up against the house. Curry put on his warmest clothes, checked on Heyes one more time, and started trying to clear the snow away from the door. He could hear the sounds of the men doing the same in the bunkhouse and after a few minutes Micky and one of the other men came to help him.

After twenty minutes, they had shoveled enough and the path was clear. Curry turned to his companions.

"Micky, could you tell Bill to pack a few things and come over to the house? I need him to stay a few nights. And come with him, let me know if there's anything you need at the bunkhouse."

Micky looked curious, but went to get Bill as Curry rushed back to the house.

He wasn't sure whether he should be worried or relieved by the fact that Heyes hadn't stirred. He heard a knock at the door and let them in.

"Thanks for coming over. Bill, Heyes isn't doing so well. Do you mind stayin' here and helpin' me with him? I want someone with him around the clock."

Bill looked grave. "Happy to help. He in your room?"

"Yes."

Bill put down his bag and went back to the bedroom.

"Micky, is everyone alright in the bunkhouse? You need anything?"

"No, we're doing fine. It's good and cozy and we've got plenty of firewood and food. Joe can do the cooking while Bill's here, he ain't half bad at it. Done it a few times now when Bill couldn't."

"Good."

"Heyes gonna be alright?"

Curry looked at the bedroom door in concern. "Hope so."

"Can I see him?"

Kid hesitated. Heyes had not reacted well to seeing anyone else so far, but he was either sleeping or so fevered right now that he probably wouldn't know anything about it and he and Mickey had been friends.

"He's pretty sick."

"I know, but we was friends. I'd like to jus' see him, let him know we're thinkin' 'bout him. Promise I won't bother him none."

He sounded so sincere that Curry nodded and led him to the bedroom. Maybe it would do Heyes some good to know that other people cared about him as well.

Heyes opened his eyes to slits when they entered the room. He moved his lips when he recognized the Kid, but no sound came out. Curry brushed his hand across Heyes' forehead.

"Micky wanted to come and say hello, Heyes."

Micky was shocked by Heyes' appearance. It was the first time he'd seen him up close and the bruise on his face didn't help.

"Hiya, Heyes. It's good to see you back again. Sorry you ain't doing so good right now. You get better now, y'hear? My aunt, she says she'll bake ya another apple cake now that you're back. We all missed ya."

Heyes gave him a weak smile, too sick to be nervous. His head was so muddled, he didn't really know what was happening.

"T..thanks." He coughed and Curry gave him some more water. He drifted off again.

Micky gave him a worried look. "Let me know if I can help, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks Micky."

Micky left just as Bill came back into the room with a bowl of water and a cloth. Curry took it from him and placed the cloth on Heyes' forehead.

Bill stood beside him. "He don't look so good, Jed."

"No, he doesn't. Do you think we should try to get Doc?"

"Don't think we could in this weather. How d'ya want to do this? I'm kind of a night owl myself, I don't mind taking the night shift."

"Okay, thanks. You want to get some rest now?"

"Naw. I'll go in a bit. Reckon you ain't had no breakfast yet? Thought so. I'll go make you something, you gotta eat too."

In a little while he came back. "Food's on the table, best be getting out there while it's hot. Brought some broth for Heyes as well. Help me lift him up a little and then you can go eat while I get this down him."

They pulled up Heyes, limp as a ragdoll, and placed pillows behind him.

Bill lightly slapped his cheeks until he saw the slits of Heyes' eyes. "That's it, son, stay with me awhile."

He turned to see Curry standing over him, watching worriedly. "You still here? That breakfast ain't gettin' any warmer. Go on now, I got this."

Curry nodded and left the room. Bill brought the mug back to Heyes' mouth.

"I know you're tired, but the sooner you drink this, the sooner you get back to sleep."

Heyes frowned and turned away, his eyes closing again. He felt another slap on his cheek.

"Come on now. I ain't gonna let you sleep 'till you drink this."

Resigned, Heyes opened his mouth and started to drink. He drank about three quarters of it before he couldn't hold his eyes open any more. This time Bill couldn't rouse him again.

* * *

They laid him back down and Curry took the first watch, wiping his face and neck with cool water. Heyes fretted and murmured, but didn't regain consciousness. The Kid tried to get him to drink again, but couldn't.

While Curry slept, Bill took over the task of cooling Heyes off. It didn't seem to be doing any good. By now, sweat was pouring off him and Bill had to admit that his temperature was rising, not falling. He'd seen this before a few times in his life and knew that they were at a dangerous point.

He hurried to the guest room, where Curry was stretched out on the bed asleep, fully dressed.

"Jed!"

Curry pushed his hand away and turned over.

Bill shook him again and spoke louder. "Jed! You gotta get up!"

"Wha...?"

"Jed! Come on, it's Heyes!"

That got his attention, and he quickly sat up. "What's wrong?"

"His fever, it's got too high. We need to cool him down quick."

"Should I get the doc?"

"No time. We gotta take care of this ourselves. Get up and start some water heating, then go and get Micky and Joe."

"Why, what are you goin' to do?"

"You want to sit around and talk or you want to help your partner?"

Curry didn't say another word. He hurried off to do what he'd been told while Bill returned to the patient.

Heyes was now thrashing about in the throes of his fever, sweat pouring from him. His face was red from the heat and his eyes glassy and unfocused.

Bill ran to the back room, grabbed the bathtub and brought it back into the bedroom. He started to strip Heyes of his clothes.

Curry appeared at the door with the others. They stopped when they saw the naked man.

"No time for that sort of foolishness - get in here. Micky, Joe, you need to start filling this tub. There's water on the stove," at this he looked at Curry, who nodded. "It needs to be cool, but not so cold that it'll be a shock to him. We need to bring his fever down, not kill him outright, got that?"

They ran to start filling the tub.

Curry couldn't believe the change in his friend. He was burning up, completely unreachable. The Kid stared at him, helpless, while the others rushed in with the water.

Bill tested it. "Okay, that feels about right."

There was a strange noise and they all looked over at Heyes. His eyes rolled back into his head as his body suddenly jerked convulsively and stiffened, his back arching as his fingers curled into claw-like fists.

He made an odd sound, as though he was choking, and Kid suddenly sprang into action, grabbing for him, pushing him onto his side. His body and jaw were still rigid, but he stopped making the choking noise.

"Shit! Bill, what's happening? What do I do?"

Bill looked equally worried. "Nothing we can do, 'cept what you've done."

They watched, frozen in horror. It seemed to last for hours, although Bill thought it was probably only about two or three minutes. All at once the tension seemed to leave the body and his body relaxed. As his jaw slackened, his mouth fell open and a trickle of blood poured onto the pillow.

Bill moved forward and looked into his mouth, examining it closely.

"It's okay, looks like he bit his tongue. Good job you rolled him over; he was probably choking on the blood." He looked worried. "Come on, we still need to do this and break this fever. Jed..."

He looked up to see Curry staring at his partner in horror. "Jed!"

Curry jumped.

"Jed, you and Micky lift him and get him into that tub."

Heyes weighed almost nothing and Curry thought that even Bill could have lifted him on his own. But Curry was glad of the help. His hands were shaking so much that he thought he might have dropped Heyes if he was doing this alone.

They placed Heyes in the tub and Bill started to pour the cool water over him. He barely moved, except for a few odd little twitches and jerks that seemed to be left over from his fit.

"Joe, go get some snow from outside. Now he's got used to that we can cool it down a little more."

They continued that way for a while, pouring the water over him and keeping him cool.

It seemed like hours before Bill felt his forehead and nodded. "I guess that's enough. Feels cooler anyhow. We'll just have to wait and see if it worked. Joe, go to the linen closet and get some towels."

They laid Heyes down on the rug while Bill and Curry dried him. Curry allowed himself a moment to think how much Heyes would hate knowing that they had all seen him this way.

Bill broke into his thoughts. "Jed, go get him something to wear."

Curry nodded and returned a few minutes later to help dress him. They carried him to the bed like a rag doll and he lay there, completely unresponsive and pale as death. Except for the fit, he hadn't stirred once.

"Bill?"

Bill shook his head. "I guess we wait. Micky, first light you get Dan to ride for the doc."

Curry frowned. "I thought you said he wouldn't be able to get here."

"Still might not, but he'll have a better chance in daylight. I think we need to try. Besides, Dan feels real bad about what happened. He'll move heaven an' earth to get the doctor here."

Kid paled. "He's gonna be okay. You hear me, Heyes? You're gonna be okay. You haven't survived the past three years just to give up now!"

The others returned to their beds and Kid sat alone by his partner's beside.

* * *

At some point during the night, Heyes' breathing became louder and labored. Curry found himself trying not to count the seconds between breaths. Heyes now had a greyish pallor and his lips were tinged with blue. Apart from the slow hitching of his chest, he never moved. His hands were ice cold. Kid could almost be glad about the gasping breaths because otherwise it could have been a corpse lying there, so still and pale.

When Bill returned a little while later, Heyes still hadn't moved.

"Why are you up? I thought you were sleepin'?"

"The older you get the less sleep you seem to need. How is he?"

Curry made a gesture. "He hasn't moved, but his breathin' doesn't sound good."

"No, it sure doesn't. You want to take a break, maybe lie down for a few minutes?"

"No, I want to stay with him. Wouldn't mind grabbin' some coffee though. You want some?"

"Coffee sounds good right now."

Curry stood up and released Heyes' hand as he did so.

"Jed."

"What?"

"Come back here."

He turned back and saw that Bill was pointing to the hand Kid had just dropped. It was searching for him. Curry rushed back and picked it up again. When he squeezed it, he felt a faint pressure.

"Heyes? Come back, Heyes, please!"

The eyelids twitched and, with what looked like a monumental effort, opened into slits. He licked dry lips and when he spoke his voice was barely a gasp.

""Id?" It wasn't quite a word, but to the Kid it sounded wonderful.

"Yeah, Heyes, I'm here."

He lifted him slightly and put a cup to his mouth. Heyes drank a little, but it was clearly an effort to stay conscious. After a few seconds, his eyes closed and his head lolled to the side.


	21. Chapter 21

Doc Brown arrived about an hour later and they told him everything that had happened. His face was grave as he leaned over to examine his patient. Heyes began to stir.

"Heyes?"

Heyes slowly opened his eyes and looked around in confusion. "Kid?"

Curry moved forward and picked up his cousin's hand. "Right here, Heyes."

Heyes tried to smile and then attempted to focus on the others in the room.

"Jed, would you mind helping him to sit up so I can listen to his chest?"

Curry thought to himself that the doctor could hear plenty just from where he was standing. Heyes was still breathing like a steam train coming into the station, but he gently put his arms around his cousin and lifted him to a sitting position. Doc Brown pulled out his stethoscope and listened intently.

"Heyes, would you take a deep breath for me please?"

Heyes attempted to do so, and it ended in a fit of coughing which doubled him over and left his eyes watering. "S..sorry."

The doctor tightened his lips. "Not at all, Mr. Heyes, I'm the one that should apologize. It seems that I wasn't being clear enough when I told you to rest and do nothing strenuous. Evidently I should have clarified further. I should have made sure you understood that included not chopping wood in the rain and getting into a fistfight!"

The expression on Heyes' face showed that he didn't understand any of this, but Curry glared at the doctor.

"He was just tryin' to help!"

The doctor sighed. "I realize that, but I give advice for a reason. He was already in a weakened physical condition and this is the last thing he needed."

"But he's getting better! He's awake and talking to us."

"He's not out of danger yet, I'm afraid. He has pneumonia."

Kid sank down on the bed and put his arm around his partner.

"So how do we help him?"

"There are a few things we can do. First, he'll feel better if he's not lying down - do you have some pillows we can build up behind him?"

"Over there, Bill, in that chest."

Bill pulled out some extra pillows and built them up behind Heyes. Kid gently lowered him back against them.

"Next, we need to try and get that fluid out of his lungs. I'll show you how to make a mustard plaster and I want you to put one on his chest every six hours. I'm also going to give you some herbs for inhalation. Put a handful into a basin with some hot water and have him inhale the steam at regular intervals."

Bill looked up. "My ma used to do that for us when we was lit'luns. Used to cover our heads with a towel so we'd breath it in deep."

The doctor smiled at him. "Mine too. I'm a great believer in the old remedies. Our mothers did these things because they worked; until something better comes along I will stick with them!"

Bill smiled back. "She used to give us tea, too. Dunno what was in it, but it worked."

"And that was the next thing! I have a mixture prepared. Make sure he drinks it as often as you can. He needs to drink plenty of fluids; keep giving him broth and soup whenever you can. If you could get him to eat, that would be even better. He needs to build his strength up and he's not going to do that with water and broth."

He paused for a moment and looked at Heyes, already asleep again. They all knew that Heyes had been dangerously underweight before he became sick. It was why the doctor had warned them after the first examination. He knew then that it was only going to take one little thing to get Heyes sick, but it would take a lot more to bring him back to health.

They listened to his heavy, labored breathing.

"When he's coughing, you can give him some hot water with honey. And you can always add a little whisky. That will help soothe the cough and might help him to sleep."

Kid pulled the covers tighter over his sleeping friend. "He's gonna be alright though?"

Doc followed his glance. "I hope so, Jed. I hope so."

* * *

Although Heyes' fever never reached the heights it had risen to before, it continued to rise and fall over the next few days as Heyes drifted in and out. He rarely seemed to recognize anyone but Curry and a few times he hadn't even recognized him. That had been hard on Curry, as his partner lay mumbling and calling for him, not even aware that he was sitting right beside him.

Curry was not going to leave him again. He slept in the chair beside the bed and tightly held the hand that clutched onto him with the desperation of a drowning man.

On the forth morning, Curry woke up to hear deep, hacking coughs and turned to see Heyes trying to smother the sound with his sleeve. Curry reached for a handkerchief and handed it to him. Heyes took it and coughed loudly for a few minutes more. There was a little of the honey drink on the table beside him and the Kid held it to his partner's lips. It was cold now, but better than nothing.

"Thanks." Heyes voice was rasping and scratchy.

"Sure." Curry was surprised and looked closely at his friend. "You back with us, Heyes?"

"I guess." Heyes looked around at the mess of blankets, pillows, mugs and other sickroom paraphernalia.

"How long... was I sick?" His voice was weak and rasping.

"'Bout a week or so."

Heyes was stunned. "A week?"

"Yeah. And you're gonna be in bed a lot longer than that. You've got pneumonia. How do you feel?"

"Like I've got pneumonia." Heyes leaned back against the pillow and sighed.

He tried to take it all in. It all seemed like a blur. He could remember… he frowned in an effort of concentration. Chopping wood, he remembered that. And then…

"Did you tell me a story about... Mary and the governor? Or did I imagine that?" he asked, hesitantly. His mind was still foggy and the question started him coughing again.

Kid grinned and poured a little whiskey into a glass for him. "Heyes, even with a high fever, you couldn't imagine a story that crazy. Now I want a real answer, how do you feel?"

Heyes answered automatically. "Fine." He saw his cousin frown. "You look like hell, are you okay?"

Curry threw up his hands in exasperation. "You're askin' me? Yes, I'm fine! I haven't slept in a proper bed or had a full night's sleep in over a week because I've been worried about you, but apart from that, yeah, I'm doin' great!"

"'M better now. Why not... get some... sleep?" He felt his own eyes starting to close again as he tried to fight off a yawn.

"Because every time I leave you, you do somethin' stupid and you get worse! I'm not leavin' you again."

Heyes was too fuzzy to remember anything he'd done, but he smiled a little at his cousin's worry.

"Like it when you worry about me, Kid."

"I know, you've said that before. Must be why you keep makin' me worry!"

"Kinda proddy, Kid. Must be overtired." With a monumental effort, Heyes threw back the blankets beside him. "Sleep. C'mon Kid, you look... beat."

Heyes yawned again and fought to keep his eyes open.

"Well, don't suppose you can get up too much if I'm sleepin' right next to you."

Curry climbed in beside his cousin and fell asleep almost immediately. When Bill came in later to check on them, they were both sleeping peacefully, side by side.

* * *

Although the fever had finally broken, Heyes still found it hard to breathe and the cough seemed to get worse.

The doctor tried to tell them it was a good thing. "Your body's trying to clear the fluid from your lungs and coughing is the only way to do that."

It didn't make either of them feel any better, especially when they couldn't get any sleep because of it.

By the end of his second week of freedom, Heyes looked even worse than when he'd first been released. Not only had he not gained any weight, he'd actually lost a little. The lack of sleep left him looking haggard and the strain on his back while coughing etched new lines of pain on his face. On top of that, the bruise on his face was now multi-colored and vivid.

The doctor checked on Heyes earlier in the day and confirmed that as bad as he looked, he was actually doing much better. Heyes had fallen asleep immediately after and Curry was also taking a much-needed nap. He was exhausted. Now that Heyes was more settled and out of immediate danger, Curry had moved to the guest room, but he still couldn't help being woken up constantly by the sound of Heyes' coughing.

It was a Sunday and the men had a day off. Most of them had chosen to go into town, so it was a surprise when Kid woke to the sound of horses outside in the yard. Moving quickly, he grabbed his gun and headed outside.

Wheat, Kyle and Preacher greeted him.

"Hey, Kid! We heard about Heyes and came to say hello. He about?"

Curry looked back at the house, uncertain. "Come on in."

They looked around approvingly as Kyle bounced down on the sofa. "Hey, this is nice!"

Wheat nodded in approval. "Yeah, nice place you've got here. Real fancy."

Preacher was a little more attuned to his mood. "Something wrong with Heyes?"

Wheat and Kyle turned to Curry in surprise.

"Where is he?"

At that moment, they all heard the deep, hacking cough from the bedroom.

"That him?"

"Yep. He's got pneumonia. Been sick pretty much since he got here."

"Can we see him?"

Curry hesitated. When Micky had said hello to Heyes, Heyes had been too sick to really worry much about it and seemed grateful for the visit. But now Heyes was doing better, would he want visitors?

"Hey, we're his friends too, y'know!"

Curry lowered his voice and tried to find a way to explain. "Since he got out, he's been different."

"Different how?" asked Kyle, too loudly.

Curry shushed him and looked over his shoulder furtively.

"He's real quiet these days, wasn't allowed to talk in prison. Gets kinda jumpy around other people."

"You sayin' we can't see him?" Wheat moved forward aggressively, fists clenched.

Curry thought for a moment. "No… might be good for him to see some familiar faces. He wasn't too bad around Lom. Just… don't push him if he seems a little… skittish, okay?"

Preacher exchanged a glance with the other two. "Sure Kid. No problem."

"I'm gonna check with him first. Wait here, okay?"

Curry walked to the bedroom and looked in. Heyes was awake, leaning tiredly against the pillows.

"Heyes, are you up for some visitors? 'Cause I got some people here that are real anxious to see you."

Heyes looked at him in alarm, but before he could answer, Wheat pushed his way past the Kid, with Kyle at his heels. Preacher followed behind and shot Curry an apologetic look.

"It's just us! Wanted to see you now that you're back." Kyle seemed completely oblivious to Heyes' reaction.

"Yeah," echoed Wheat, "just wanted to say hi."

Preacher said nothing, but watched Heyes.

He looked like a trapped animal. His eyes seemed to plead with Kid to save him from this. Curry climbed on the bed beside him, putting his arm around Heyes' shoulders.

Seeing they expected something from him, Heyes said, "Hi."

Wheat and Preacher pulled up chairs and sat down. Seeing nowhere else to sit, Kyle sat at the foot of the bed. They all pretended not to notice the way Heyes shrank back from him.

Preacher spoke up next. "Kid says you've got pneumonia, sorry to hear that."

"Yeah," added Wheat, "you look pretty rough. What happened to your face?"

Heyes couldn't think how to reply. Curry stepped in to help him.

"Long story, isn't that right, Heyes?"

Heyes gave them a weak smile, but said nothing. There was a silence as they tried to think of something to say to put him at his ease.

Kyle, ever tactless, jumped in. "Guess it was pretty bad in there, huh?"

Heyes' eyes widened and he looked desperately at the Kid.

"Don't think he wants to talk about it, Kyle."

"Oh! Sure. Sorry Heyes."

They noticed that Heyes' breathing had started to become a little ragged and Curry gave his shoulders a squeeze.

"Well, we should let you get some sleep. Thanks for coming to say hello. It was really nice of them, wasn't it, Heyes?"

"Yeah." His voice was almost a whisper, "Thanks."

Kyle grinned. "It's bin real nice to see you again. Don't you worry none, we'll come back when you're feelin' better!"

Heyes' shot a desperate look at Curry, who stood up and started moving them towards the door.

* * *

They walked to the front room in silence. Behind them, they heard him coughing again.

Wheat spoke first. "He gonna get better?"

Curry shrugged. "I don't know. Hope so."

Kyle looked confused. "Why didn't he say nothin'?"

"No-one in the prison was allowed to speak unless they were spoken to. If they made a sound, they were beaten. He worked by himself and was kept in a single cell; I guess he just got out of the habit of bein' around people. Lom says he probably hasn't talked to anyone since he got in there."

"He like that with everyone?"

"At first. He's okay with me, but he won't say much in front of anyone else. He was real quiet around Lom and doesn't say much to Bill. I guess the only other person he's really spoken to so far is the doctor and then it's just to answer his questions."

"What about everyone else?"

Curry wondered how much he should tell them and realized that it wasn't exactly a secret. "He hasn't met anyone else. Since we got here he hasn't gone farther than the porch and the wood pile."

He saw their shock as they thought about that.

Wheat gave a small whistle. "What does the doctor say?"

"That we should give him time. Take things easy and not push him."

They nodded.

Preacher stepped forward and put a hand on Curry's shoulder. "Well, you keep letting him know we're all rootin' for him and just want him to get better. And if you need anything, you just let us know."

Wheat bristled and threw Preacher an angry look. "Hey, I'm the leader of this gang! It's for me to say who we help and who we don't!"

Straightening his hat on his head, he turned to Curry and said, "You need anything, you just let us know. C'mon boys."

* * *

Heyes was still tense when Curry returned to the bedroom.

"You okay?"

Heyes nodded unconvincingly.

"They were worried about you and just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I know. It's just..."

Curry waited.

"It's just..." Heyes sighed as he fought to find the words. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do anymore! I don't feel safe, I keep thinking that if I say the wrong thing, someone's gonna hurt me or put me back in the ho..."

He broke off quickly, horrified at what he'd let slip.

Curry guessed that what Heyes was about to say had been important. "Back where?"

Heyes shook his head.

"Heyes."

"It's not important. Could I sleep now? I'm pretty tired."

Curry recognized an evasion when he heard one. Hannibal Heyes was the king of what Curry thought of as the verbal shell game. The important things were shuffled around and you forgot where to look. But right now, Heyes was tired and sick. Although Curry would have felt bad about taking advantage of anyone else in that position, he knew it might be the only time that he could get the truth from Heyes.

"No, you can't. What did you mean? Back where?"

"Could I have some tea? My throat hurts..."

"Sure you can. And while you're drinkin' it, you can answer my question."

He left the room and made the tea for Heyes. While he knew this was another stalling tactic, he thought Heyes would probably need it anyway.

* * *

Sure enough, when he returned to the room, Heyes was lying against the pillows pretending to sleep. Curry shook him awake.

"Heyes, here's your tea. Now answer my question. Back where?"

Heyes took on a pleading tone. "Please, Kid, don't..."

Curry sat on the bed and lifted Heyes' chin, meeting his eyes. "You know I wouldn't if I didn't think it was important. But I do and I'm not to let this go. You may as well start tellin' me what they did to you in that place. I will find out, even if I have to ride out there and hold the warden at gunpoint!"

Heyes' eyes widened. They both knew that Kid wasn't completely joking.

Heyes clutched his hands around his mug and took a sip. "I couldn't remember not to talk, didn't matter how many times they hit me. Finally, they threw me in the hole."

Curry felt a shiver go down his spine at the name.

Heyes' voice became a whisper. "It's completely dark in there; you can't see your hand in front of your face. You get one meal a day, that's the only way you know how much time has passed."

His hands were shaking now and Curry leaned forward and took the mug from him. He knew his cousin hated being locked away in the dark.

"I thought I might go mad in there. The first time they put me in there it was only two days, but I was terrified. After that, I tried harder to remember. But one day I was whistling - I didn't even realize I was doing it - and they threw me back in. It was longer the second time; I think I blacked out. After that, I did real well. Then... it was so stupid. I was carrying rocks at the quarry and I dropped one on my foot. I said 'damn', just like you do."

Heyes tried never to think about it, but it haunted his dreams. Now, after so long without speaking, it felt like an almost physical release to talk about it. He felt as though the words would not be stopped. He couldn't remember the last time he'd said so much.

"I don't know how long I was in there that last time. I thought they were going to leave me in there forever. I went a little crazy."

He looked up to watch his cousin's face. There was no judgement there, just concern and worry.

"I... I think I had some kind of fit. I screamed so hard I thought my lungs would burst and I was tearing at the door to get it open. When I came out of it, my hands were bleeding and I was crouching in the corner, shaking and sobbing like a child. I thought I was going to die in there. I don't remember anything after that, I don't even remember them letting me out. I woke up in my cell as usual, but after that, I remembered not to speak. They never had to tell me again."

Kid Curry had no words. He realized that it was the most Heyes had said since he was released, undoubtedly the most he'd said in more than three years. He couldn't imagine how hard it must have been for Heyes to tell him.

He couldn't even imagine what that must have been like for Heyes. He remembered what Heyes had been like when he'd been locked in the closet at Valparaiso, even when he knew that he could get out at any time by picking the lock. He couldn't think how Heyes had survived being locked away for so long on his own.

It certainly explained how they managed to stop him from speaking.

Heyes' chest was hitching and his breathing was ragged as he tried to get himself back under control. Curry did the only thing he could think of, which was the thing he wanted to do most at that moment.

He leaned forward and pulled his cousin into his arms and hugged him tightly. As he felt him tremble, he ran one hand over his head, again and again, as he would gentle a horse, and murmured, "It's okay, Han. It's gonna be okay."


	22. Chapter 22

It took Heyes a long time to calm down after that. Eventually, he did fall into a restless sleep. Curry continued to hold his cousin, stroking his hair and talking softly to him, as his own mother would when he was a child. Curry needed to feel connected to his cousin right now, needed to feel him safe in his hands. He realized the doctor was right, they needed to know more - a lot more - about what had happened to Heyes in that place.

He thought about their mothers and how he had called Heyes 'Han'. He hadn't done that in years, not since they were children.

He thought about how very young they had been when they were orphaned. Heyes was young, but the Kid was younger, so he often forgot that Heyes had still been just a child himself. Heyes was older and he was… well, he was Heyes, so naturally he took charge from the beginning.

It had been Heyes that had saved him from the beatings in the orphanage, because Heyes was older and could talk and twist the facts around until everyone forgot that it had been Jed - angry, impulsive Jed - that had caused the trouble.

Heyes would step up and take responsibility for stealing the bread from the kitchen or breaking the plates they were washing. Jed's hands - so lethal now, but so clumsy back then - seemed unable to hold onto anything without breaking it. It had been a joke when they were at home; here it was serious, cause for a beating.

Han always stepped in front of his cousin, silencing him with a look. A couple of times, Jed tried to convince them that he had been the cause of the trouble and Han's wrath had been terrible. He knew Han would never hurt him, but he was more scared of upsetting Han than of anything else. Even though there were less than two years between them, Jed respected his judgement and did whatever Heyes told him to do.

It was ridiculous, now he came to think about it. Heyes had taken on the responsibility of raising him, even though he could undoubtedly have done better without the Kid. Even at that age, Heyes could still charm the birds from the trees and talk his way out of any trouble.

At the orphanage, while Jed grabbed the bread from the table and appeared later with crumbs around his mouth, Han would take the food in such a way that no-one was ever sure that anything had been stolen. A little here, a little there, and always at night with the lock picks that had been given to him by Jed's own mother, who recognized Han's talents at an early age.

He smiled as he remembered Heyes saying to him on more than one occasion, 'your mother was a crook'. He hadn't minded; she had been and she had recognized the same traits in Han.

Once when their mothers had been having tea together, Maggie Curry had said to Elizabeth Heyes that Han would either be the greatest politician or lawyer that ever lived, or the world's most successful conman.

Elizabeth Heyes had been furious and hadn't spoken to her friend for days afterwards. It had taken a quite theatrical apology on Mrs. Curry's part (which, in all honesty, she had enjoyed greatly. She had often hankered for a life on the stage) as well as a gift of soda bread and barmbrack before her sister-in-law had forgiven her.

Later, when a similar conversation had taken place between the whole family, Han's father had said that the boy was destined to be an engineer and no-one had disputed it.

Kid smiled again as he thought of what Han had said when they'd been talking about Jed's future - 'Either a sheriff or a pugilist'. Jed, not knowing the word, had held up his fists and yelled, 'Take that back!'. Han had ruffled his hair, laughing, and said, 'See?'

He wondered what their parents would think of the men they were now.

Heyes stirred and opened his eyes. It took Curry a few minutes to notice.

"Hey, Kid. You okay?"

Thoughtlessly, Curry answered, "Thinkin' about our folks."

He saw Heyes' face close off instantly. He never liked to talk about their parents except in the vaguest terms.

"Oh." He tried to change the subject and went for the one thing that he knew would distract his friend. "I'm hungry. Is there anything I could eat?"

If Heyes was prepared to eat something to stop Curry from talking about their folks, then Curry was happy to let him.

* * *

Heyes still didn't want to talk to or see anyone, but at least he was talking more now. His health seemed to be improving, although he tired easily and it seemed the cough was never going to get better.

He started to feel restive and was sick of lying around in bed all day. He asked the Kid if he could go and sit by the window.

"We can do better than that." Curry threw a pile of clothes over to the bed. "It's beautiful outside, we can go and sit on the porch."

Heyes dressed on the bed as quickly as he could. He felt nervous about leaving his room, but it seemed like forever since he'd been outside and he was longing for the fresh air.

Curry handed him his cane and supported him on his other side. Heyes was shocked by how weak he was. His legs felt like rubber and Curry was practically carrying him.

Curry sat him in one of the rockers and quickly covered him with thick blanket. It was another one of those beautiful Colorado days that felt more like summer than spring. Curry was warm and happy in his shirt sleeves, but he'd taken the precaution of wrapping up Heyes in his own old sheepskin jacket. It looked huge on him, but Heyes' own jacket just seemed too lightweight.

Curry watched his cousin now as he lay back in the rocker and he smiled. "Warm enough?"

Heyes raised an eyebrow. "You've got me wrapped up like a mummy. Yeah, I'm warm enough! I'm sweatin' like a saloon girl in church!"

Curry grinned and they sat there for a while in companionable silence. This time, Curry was able to just sit quietly and enjoy being there with his cousin. When he next looked over, Heyes was sleeping soundly, a smile on his face.

* * *

Curry heard the beat of hooves and looked up to see two riders approaching.

Heyes started up and Curry put out a hand to reassure him. "Looks like Lom and Doc."

He stood up and walked forward to greet them. "Hey there. Nice to see you again, Lom. Hi Doc."

"Kid. Managed to get a few days off and thought I'd come and see how Heyes is doing. I met Doc on the road. We've been talking."

Curry didn't know why, but he could hear disapproval in Lom's tone. He looked at him curiously, but gestured towards Heyes, who once again seemed to be trying to go unnoticed.

"Just enjoyin' a little sunshine." He didn't know why Lom was looking so disapproving, but he felt criticism in the man's gaze and it put him on the offensive. "You woke him up."

Lom ignored this and walked over to Heyes, who seemed to shrink back even further. "Hello, Heyes."

Heyes tried to smile, but was obviously picking up on Lom's mood. "Lom."

"Looks like you had a pretty impressive bruise there."

Heyes put a hand to his face self-consciously. The bruise had mostly faded now, but there was still a faint discolored mark.

"Doc tells me you got pneumonia. He said you were chopping some wood in the rain."

"Yes." His eyes darted over to the Kid for help. Lom sounded angry and Heyes wanted to get away from him.

Curry stepped in front of him protectively. "Heyes, you wanna go inside, lie down for a while?"

Heyes nodded gratefully.

"Okay." Curry spoke to the others as he helped Heyes to stand. "I'll be back in a minute. If you want to wait in the kitchen, there's coffee."

He could feel Heyes shaking while he led him into the bedroom. As he settled him down on the bed, he tried to calm him.

"Heyes, it's okay, they're your friends, they've just come to see how you are. I thought you were comfortable with Doc and you saw Lom when you first came out. You were okay then."

Heyes looked embarrassed. "I know, I'm sorry. It's just… Lom seems mad about something."

"Neither of them would ever hurt you Heyes, you know that. Besides, I'm here and I won't let anything happen to you, okay?"

Heyes nodded. "Okay." He paused and said again, "I'm sorry."

Kid gave him a quick hug. "Not your fault, Heyes. Nothin' to be sorry about."

* * *

He left Heyes and went back to the kitchen, where Doc and Lom seemed to be arguing between themselves in low voices.

Keeping his own voice low so that Heyes wouldn't overhear, he said, "What was that about? He thinks you're angry with him!"

In a voice that belied his words, Lom said, "I'm not angry!"

He saw the disbelieving looks of the other two. "Alright, maybe I am a little. Kid, you were meant to be looking after him! He looks worse now than he did after three years in jail!"

"Hey, it isn't my fault!" He thought about Heyes being knocked down and amended, "Well, some of it is, I guess. But I've been trying, it hasn't been that easy."

"Why he was chopping wood? And you want to tell me how he got that bruise on his face?"

Doc jumped in. "Kid, I'm sorry. I know that you're friends and he asked me what's been happening with Heyes, so I told him."

Kid was about to reply angrily when he remembered that they were all trying to look after Heyes, just as he was.

"Heyes overheard some of the men talkin' about him and thought he should be doin' some work around here. I wasn't there. One of my men fell through the roof of the barn - he's okay - but I had to take care of things. I didn't know what Heyes was doin'. The minute I found out, I brought him inside. Then Bill told me what Heyes heard and I went outside to confront the men who were talkin' about him."

He caught Lom's eye. "Yeah, I know it was stupid! I was angry! Anyway, Heyes followed me out and tried to break us up but… well, we each of us threw a punch and one of 'em landed on Heyes. Then I brought him inside and he collapsed. He's been pretty sick ever since, that's why he looks so bad."

Lom sighed. "I'm just not sure that you can take care of him well enough here. He needs a lot of looking after right now. I think he should come back to Porterville with me."

Kid stared at him in shock. "Porterville? Lom, you're a sheriff, you have even less time than I do!"

"I can hire a nurse for him and he'd be in town. If anything happens there'll be a doctor close by."

"No! He's my cousin, I'll take care of him!"

Lom wasn't convinced. "I want to talk to him, make sure he's okay here. If he wants to, he can come back with me."

Kid felt his temper rise again. "Fine!"

Doc stepped in. "Gentlemen, if I may remind you, Heyes is still sick, and he's obviously feeling very anxious. We've already upset him once today, it would be nice if we didn't do it again."

Lom nodded. "Don't worry, Doc. We'll behave."

* * *

They went back into the bedroom. Heyes was sitting leaning a little forward, as if waiting. He really did look awful.

While a big part of Lom knew that the Kid would never hurt Heyes, he had been concerned when Doc Brown told him what had happened to Heyes since he'd been home. Chopping the wood, that was one thing. He guessed he could understand how that might happen, Heyes could be pretty stubborn at the best of times. And he guessed he could understand how Heyes had become involved in the fight. The Kid had a pretty quick temper sometimes and Heyes was used to getting in the middle and calming things down.

But now that he could look at him properly, Lom was shocked by how much weight Heyes had lost since he'd been at the ranch and how tired he looked. Heck, Heyes had looked better when they'd collected him from the jail.

No, Lom wasn't sure that the Kid was able to look after Heyes as well as he should, and Lom intended to do something about that. He noticed that Heyes was looking uncomfortable at his scrutiny.

Lom smiled at him. "Sorry Heyes, I'm just concerned about you, that's all."

Heyes gave a nervous smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"In fact, I was thinking you should come and stay me for a while, spend a little time in Porterville?"

Heyes' eyes flew to the Kid.

Curry frowned. "He thought you might enjoy a change of scene. You haven't been real lucky since you've been here, maybe you'd be better off stayin' with Lom."

All the color drained from Heyes' face and he felt lightheaded. He knew it; the Kid wanted him to leave. He leaned heavily against the pillows.

"Heyes?" Kid rushed forward and grabbed him, pulling him towards him and supporting his weight.

Doc poured a glass of whiskey made him drink. After a few minutes, his color began to return, but he stayed where he was, leaning against his cousin.

Doc sat next to him and checked his pulse. "Feeling better?"

Heyes didn't answer. Instead he turned towards Kid. "You want me to go?"

Kid's eyes went wide. "No! Dammit, Heyes, of course not! I only just got you back, why would I want you to leave?"

Lom stepped forward and Heyes watched him warily. "I'm sorry Heyes, it was all my idea. I thought you might enjoy spending a little time with me in Porterville. I didn't mean to upset you."

Heyes turned back to Kid. In a low whisper, he asked, "Can I stay here?"

"Heyes, this is your home now, you can stay here as long as you like!"

Heyes nodded, but he didn't seem convinced.

Curry made a decision. "I think Heyes and I need to talk. Would you two mind waiting outside? Help yourselves to anything you can find in the kitchen. We may be a little while."

Lom looked at Heyes and hesitated. He was sorry for his part in what had just happened and he wanted - no, he needed - to know that Heyes was going to be okay.

Kid walked over to him and said quietly, "Heyes won't talk if the two of you are here. If you're worried about him, wait in the hall and leave the door ajar."

Lom nodded. "Thanks."

They left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar. Heyes didn't notice.

When they were gone, Kid took the seat next to the bed. Heyes looked down at the sheets, not wanting to hear whatever was coming next.

"Why would you think I'd want you to leave?"

"I can't work, not anymore. I'm useless- look what happened when I tried to chop some firewood! I can't even talk to people I've known for years, it's pathetic. Why would you want me to stay?"

Kid sighed. They should have had this discussion sooner, but Heyes had been so sick that he hadn't had the opportunity.

"I know what you heard Dan and Harry sayin', but they were wrong. I didn't bring you here to be the new ranch hand!"

Heyes was watching him very intently.

"I know how it was before. The way Mary treated you was wrong and I should've done something about it then. But I loved her and at first, I didn't notice. Then when I did… well, if I'm honest, I kinda enjoyed bossin' you around for a change. Sometimes it seems like you've always been the one in charge, first when we were kids and then with the Devil's Hole gang. You were always the one with the plans and ideas, tellin' us all what we should be doin'. It felt good to be the one givin' orders for a change, instead of takin 'em."

He couldn't read Heyes' expression. His cousin looked very far away. Curry hadn't meant to say so much, he'd only meant to reassure Heyes, but once he started speaking, he felt he needed to get everything into the open and clear the air.

"What are you thinkin' about?"

For a moment he wasn't sure that Heyes would reply or even that he'd heard him.

To his surprise, Heyes answered him. "I was ten years old. You were only eight. I didn't want to be in charge, but I had to; I promised you, I promised her…"

His voice broke off. Curry didn't ask who he meant by 'her'. There would be time for questions later. Heyes had never talked to him about any of this before, not even when they were children, when it was fresh in their minds. He held his breath, knowing that Heyes should have talked about it long ago and not wanting to break the spell.

"I didn't even know what I was doing most of the time! I didn't mean us to become criminals, but what else could I do? You were so hungry! I had to steal just to get us food. The only people who would help us were people like Silky and Soapy, and the only way I could keep us from getting caught was to be the best at what we did. I had to take the lead with the Devil's Hole gang, I'd worked in too many gangs where the leader made stupid mistakes that got people caught!"

Curry reached out for his partner's hand, but he didn't think Heyes even noticed. He'd always thought Heyes liked being in charge, he'd never considered it from Heyes' point of view before.

He was eight, Han was ten. It was as simple as that. Two years was a big difference when you were that age.

Lom and Doc exchanged a glance. This was too much, too personal. Heyes wouldn't want them to hear this. They quietly moved away.

Curry had never thought about how much responsibility Heyes had taken on in his young life. He felt suddenly sad for both of them. They hadn't had much of a chance from the start.

"I'm sorry. I never thought."

"'S okay. I wanted to. You're like my brother. I'd do anything for you, Kid."

The words started him coughing and Kid grabbed a glass from the bedside table and held it to his lips. Heyes seemed to cough for a long time and then fell back into the pillows, exhausted.

Kid smiled sadly. "Yeah, I know that! But why can't you believe that I feel the same way? I want us to be partners, just like we used to be. You don't need to work. I just want you here with me, like the old days."

Heyes looked at him tiredly. "You can't afford charity, Kid. Not if you're going to make this work."

"Heyes, you paid for everything when you went to jail. You took all the blame for the things we did together and got a twenty year sentence because of it. You gave up three years of your life and almost died in the process! And you're forgetting the ten thousand dollars Mary collected for your capture! This isn't charity. If anythin', it's less than I owe you."

Heyes' eyes were starting to close. "Don't owe me anything, Kid. Never have."

Kid realized that Heyes was already slipping back into sleep. "Heyes, wait, I haven't finished…"

Heyes tried to focus again. "Tired…"

Kid pulled the sheets tighter across his friend. "Fine, get some sleep. We'll talk more later."

Heyes was already asleep.

* * *

Curry walked back to the door and was surprised to see that the others weren't there.

He went back to the kitchen. "He's sleeping."

Doc Brown stood up. "I'll just take a look at him."

They went back to the bedroom and Doc immediately started checking on Heyes. Heyes stirred a little, but continued to sleep.

Lom watched in concern. "He okay, Doc?"

"He's fine. His breathing sounds a lot better and he has more color. Has he been eating?"

"Yeah. Not much, mainly broth and soups, but he's been tryin'. The cough is really bad though, and he's still sleepin' a lot. Real heavy, too, like now. Always used to be a light sleeper."

"As I told you both before, the cough is a good thing, it's helping to clear the fluid from his lungs. Once his lungs are clear, it will get better, although you have to understand that he'll never be completely as he was. The doctor was right, the smoke inhalation caused permanent damage and he'll always have a bit of a cough. As for the sleeping, it's just the body's way of healing itself. He's exhausted. He needs to get as much rest as possible, especially if, as I suspect, his coughing is keeping him awake at nights. Just let nature do its work."

"Thanks Doc. It's good of you to drop by."

"I'm afraid I have something I want to talk to you about."

Kid glanced up in sudden worry. "What's wrong?"

Doc laid a hand on his shoulder. "It's nothing like that. I got his medical history from the prison. I thought you should know about it."

Curry gave a wry smile. "Thought you didn't like sharin' personal information?"

The doctor have the grace to look faintly abashed. "Normally, I wouldn't. With Mary, well, you already suspected anyway. But in this case, I think it would help him if you understood some of what he's been through - not only physically, but mentally. I think you need to know so you can help him."

"Okay..."

Doc looked over at Heyes. "Not here. Let's go to the kitchen."


	23. Chapter 23

In the kitchen, Curry poured them all some coffee and he and the doctor sat down.

Lom looked uncomfortable. "Kid, maybe I should go and let you two talk in private."

Curry thought for a moment and then shook his head. "No, stay. You're one of his oldest friends and we're all just tryin' to help him. If it gives us an idea of what's goin' on in that head of his, then it might explain the way he's behavin'. So, what is it, Doc?"

"Well, it seems there's a lot to explain why Heyes is so quiet and uncomfortable around other people. How much has he told you about his stay there?"

"He's barely told me anything. He got sick pretty quickly and he's pretty much been out of it since then."

"Has he told you anything?"

"He told me why he finds it so hard to talk now." At Lom's look, he explained, "There was a place called 'the hole'. He got thrown in there three times. He…," Curry didn't like talking about this, it felt like he was breaking a confidence, "he didn't do well in there."

The doctor raised an eyebrow. "Did he tell you what happened?"

Curry sighed. "He said that the second time he went in, he blacked out for a while."

"Blacked out?" Lom was shocked.

"Yeah."

"And did he tell you what happened the third time?"

"He said he had a sort of fit."

"Yes, he did. When they went to get him out of there, he was completely unresponsive."

"You mean he was unconscious?" asked Lom.

"No, he was awake. But his eyes were unfocused and he couldn't speak. They were able to get him to walk out of there, but he didn't acknowledge them in any way. He'd torn his hands to shreds tearing at the door and ripped his fingernails off. They said he was covered in blood. I'm impressed he told you, that's a good sign."

"Anyway," Doc returned to his report, "when they saw how he was acting, they took him to the hospital. The doctor there cleaned him up and bandaged his hands and he still didn't show any reaction at all. MacTavish - that's the doctor there - said he thought Heyes might be faking, so he poured iodine into onto his bleeding hands. Apparently, Heyes didn't even blink. MacTavish didn't know what to do with him, so he told them to take him back to his cell and the next day he was back to normal."

Lom frowned. "But that's not normal, right? That reaction, I mean?"

"I've heard of a few cases like that, where the patient was scared out of their wits, but I've never witnessed it myself."

"But he was just locked in a cell. I mean, I know it was dark, but still…"

"Heyes is terrified of bein' locked in the dark."

They turned and looked at the Kid as he spoke.

"I think it had something to do with what happened to our parents. He was okay before that, we used to hide all the time. One day after they were killed, we were stealin' some food and we had to hide in a cupboard. He started to go crazy, said he had to get out. We had to make a run for it instead. Damn near got caught."

"Did you ask him about it?"

"Never would tell me."

They all thought for a moment.

"Anything else I should know?"

"I'm afraid so. Did he tell you about his time in the hospital?"

"No, we haven't talked about the fire."

"I'm not talking about the fire."

Curry felt his blood run cold. "What happened?"

"It seems he was hospitalized before the fire. The first time, he was stabbed in the chest by another inmate, a man named…" he thought for a moment as he tried to recall the name, "Bart Cassidy."

Curry frowned. He remembered seeing the scar but hadn't asked about it.

"I remember Bart, he was with the Carson gang. They were always a day late and a dollar short. We always seemed to get the drop on them. How bad was it?"

"Not too bad. He lost a lot of blood and was confined to his cell for a few weeks while he recovered."

Lom had a question. "Was that when he was taken from working at the quarry?"

Doc looked grim. "No, I'm afraid not."

Curry's head shot up at that. "What do you mean 'you're afraid not'? What else happened?"

"I'm afraid Heyes was hospitalized twice more after that, not counting his injuries from the fire."

They stared at him, horrified.

"A little after he'd been there a year, a man named Jack Nicholls…"

Curry and Lom both put down their coffee mugs.

"Jack Nicholls was in there? That man would shoot his own mother in the back."

Curry nodded in agreement. "And he hated Heyes. What'd he do to him?"

"It seems he was there with a few of the members of his gang. They lay in wait for Heyes as he was heading back to his cell with his dinner tray. They beat him pretty badly."

Curry's lips compressed to thin lines. "How badly?"

"Broken ribs, broken wrist, a dislocated shoulder, fractured kneecap, and a bad head wound. That was when he was transferred from the quarry. It was weeks before he was fit to work again, even on the accounts. That was when they found out he had problems with laudanum."

Curry's knuckles were white as he gripped his coffee mug.

Lom looked at him in concern and asked the inevitable question. "Anything else?"

"Eight months after that. That was just bad luck. They had riot in the food hall and he was one of those caught up in the middle of it. He was really very lucky. Seven people were killed and a dozen or so injured, some fatally as it turned out."

"How badly was he hurt?"

"He was stabbed in the back. Luckily, they missed any major organs, but he was bleeding steadily for a few hours before they were able to overpower the rioters and restore order. He got a slight infection and, again, he was confined to his cell again while he recovered. I believe that may have been the defining moment when his other problems really began to manifest themselves."

Curry looked at Lom to see if he understood this. He didn't.

"Excuse me, Doc?"

"I would guess that from that point on, Heyes began to avoid other people as much as possible. On two or three occasions after that, the guards insisted the doctor check him over, saying that he had been close to fainting. It was reported that he hadn't been going to the food hall for breakfast or dinner. He was reprimanded and ordered to eat more."

Lom was shocked. "He wasn't eating breakfast or dinner?"

Curry was equally horrified. "No wonder he lost so much weight!"

They stared at each other in shock.

Doc continued. "In many ways, the fire may have been a blessing in disguise. Had he continued on that path, he would have slowly starved himself to death. As it was, his extended stay in the hospital ensured that he gained back some of the lost weight. I've been doing some research and contacted a few of my colleagues. One of them has some experience with the mental disorders of convicts…"

Curry shot him a look and the doctor realized how that sounded. "I'm sorry. But it seems prisoners held for extended periods of time in solitary conditions frequently develop such afflictions. My friend has seen similar symptoms amongst inmates of such places; Heyes' problems are not unique by any means."

"So, what do we do?"

"Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a cure beyond that which we have already talked about. We just need to try to understand what he's going through and give him time to adjust. Hopefully, he'll improve over time."

Lom frowned and put down his mug. "Hopefully?"

Doc Brown looked grave. "There are no guarantees, Mr. Trevors."

They heard coughing from the other room. Curry poured some hot water into a mug with some honey and whiskey.

"Sounds like he's awake."

* * *

They filed into the bedroom to see Heyes coughing so hard that he was bent forward with the force of it.

Curry put his arm around his cousin as he held the drink to his lips. Heyes drank and then leaned back again, breathless.

Curry pushed back the hair from his cousin's forehead and sat on the bed, his arm around him. "Better?"

Heyes nodded.

"Doc says your breathin's improvin' and you're looking better."

Heyes gave him a wry smile. "Great."

He didn't sound convinced and the Kid couldn't blame him. If he felt as bad as he looked then he still had a long way to go.

"Doc got your medical records from the prison."

He felt Heyes stiffen beside him and squeezed his arm gently.

"Musta really liked that hospital food, huh?"

Heyes, who had been expecting an interrogation, flashed him a surprised look and smiled. "Yeah."

Curry was glad to see that he'd said the right thing and couldn't help but follow it up. "What you won't do to get breakfast in bed!"

This time he got a genuine Heyes smile that went all the way to the eyes.

Doc was glad to see it, but had some questions for him. "I'm glad I sent for them. I didn't know about your leg injury."

"Leg injury?" Curry frowned, wondering what else he didn't know.

"Yes. I was assuming that Heyes has been walking with a cane because of the contraction of his burnt muscles, but it seems that's only part of the problem. His leg was broken in the fire and it didn't heal properly. How much pain does it give you?"

Curry admired the way he asked the question; if he'd said 'does it hurt?', then Heyes would have denied that he had any pain at all. By asking 'how much', Heyes was forced to acknowledge that it did.

"Some."

"Could you show me where it was broken?"

Heyes nodded and pulled back the sheets, pointing to a place just below his knee. Doc gently probed the area.

"Yes, I can feel where it's misaligned. Does it hurt when I do this?"

"No."

"But when you walk?"

Heyes nodded again.

"And, I imagine, when you chop wood!"

Heyes blushed and said nothing. Curry felt that Heyes had already had a tough enough day.

"You almost done, Doc? 'Cause I'm more than ready for some lunch!"

Doc smiled. "Sure, Jed, I've finished."

Curry turned to Heyes. "You want to get up for some lunch?"

Heyes felt nervous about eating lunch with the others, but he was tired of lying in bed all day. He nodded and the Kid tossed him his clothes.

Heyes tried to eat as much as he could, but was conscious of everybody's eyes on him as he ate. He turned his own eyes pleadingly to Curry, who looked embarrassed to be caught watching him.

"Sorry Heyes, we're just worried about you."

Curry turned to the others and they made conversation as Heyes picked at his food. He knew he had to eat if he wanted to get stronger, but he just didn't have much of an appetite anymore. He sighed and pushed his plate away. The Kid frowned at him.

"Heyes, you gotta try harder than that, you've hardly eaten anythin'!"

Heyes flashed him a look.

Doc nodded in agreement. "I'm sorry Heyes, but he's right. You're not going to get any better if you don't eat more than that."

Resigned, he pulled his plate back towards him and tried again.

The doctor left soon after lunch and Curry showed Lom to the guest room.

"Sure this isn't putting you out? I can easily stay at the saloon in town."

"No, it's no problem. I'll just go back to sharin' with Heyes. Not like we've never done it before."

"Thanks, Kid. And... er… sorry about earlier."

"That's okay, Lom, I get it. Did look kinda bad. I'm glad you're lookin' out for him too."


	24. Chapter 24

Once again, Heyes continued to cough for most of the night. By the early morning, he finally dropped into an exhausted sleep. Curry was not so lucky. He was wide awake and decided to get up and make some coffee, even though it was still dark outside.

Hearing sounds from the kitchen, Lom got up and joined him. "Morning, Kid."

Curry smiled wryly. "Mornin', Lom. Sleep well?"

"Not particularly. He that bad every night?"

"Pretty much. Shoulda warned you, seems to be worse at night."

"No wonder he's sleeping so much. You're looking pretty tired yourself."

"Yeah, wouldn't mind a few quiet nights. What with one thing and another, I don't think I've slept a full night since he got sick."

"You want to go and grab some sleep now? You can use the guest room now that I'm up."

"Nah, I'm awake now. Besides, I'm sure you noticed that you can still hear it pretty good from there. I'm surprised they can't hear him in the bunkhouse. Coffee?"

"Sure."

They sat quietly for a while, enjoying the peace of the kitchen. It was still dark outside; the sun wouldn't be up for hours.

"Were you really just eight and ten?"

"Huh?"

"What Heyes said earlier, about when you were kids.

Curry looked down at his mug. "Yeah."

"Musta been hard."

"It was. I remember bein' hungry all the time. Heyes tried his best, but you know what it's like at that age. My ma used to say she was surprised I didn't eat the plate!" He smiled at the memory.

"Why didn't you want to go to the orphanage?"

"We knew a bit about it, it wasn't a nice place. We got caught a few years later and sent there anyway. They were right, it was pretty awful. We stuck it out for two years, but I don't think we could have if we'd been younger. They were real mean to the younger kids."

"I didn't know."

"Why would you? Not something we generally bring up in conversation. We hardly ever talk about it, yesterday was unusual."

"You never even talk about those things with each other?"

"Only in general terms. Would things have been different if our parents had lived, that kind of thing. We never talk about how it felt and stuff like that. He used to have real bad nightmares at first, but he never told me what they were about."

"What about you?"

"I had my fair share. But I didn't see what he saw, he kept me away from it. Made me hide in the trees while he went inside and salvaged what he could. But I'd heard some of it and I could smell…"

He stopped suddenly and downed his coffee in one quick gulp as if it were whiskey. His face had gone very pale.

That smell… He hadn't thought of it for a long time. He wondered if Heyes had remembered it when he ran into that burning building. He must have, it must have brought it all back to him.

Lom felt suddenly ashamed for prying. "I'm sorry."

"That's okay. But if you don't mind, I'd like to change the subject."

"Sure, Kid."

Despite their attempts, conversation didn't come easily after that and they sat quietly for a while, lost in their own thoughts. When Lom considered everything he'd heard, he was actually surprised they hadn't turned out a lot worse.

* * *

Curry's mind had gone back to those early years.

Han found them places to sleep, food to eat, and kept them out of trouble. After a few months, they'd met up with Soapy, who taught them a few things. Han had been a good pupil and for a while they'd been happy. But in one of the towns they visited, one of Soapy's scams had gone wrong and they'd all had to run. They'd got separated from Soapy and were on their own again.

Han managed as well as he could until the day he got sick.

Jed guessed later that Han must have been giving him more than his fair share of food. It was winter and they were both cold and close to starving. Han caught a cold and couldn't steal food. Jed was so hungry. He'd tried to steal some potatoes from a wagon and been caught. They'd both been taken to Valparaiso.

He was eleven, Han was thirteen. Han had kept them safe for three years.

They managed to stay at Valparaiso for two years and then Han told him they needed to leave. Jed would have followed Han to the ends of the earth anyway, but he was very happy to go. Whenever he asked Han why they were leaving now, Han would only say, 'it's time'.

They stayed together for another four years, until Jed turned eighteen and decided that he was tired of taking orders from Heyes and wanted to strike out on his own. He had gone on to become 'The Kid', adopting Heyes' affectionate nickname for him. He'd been so used to Han calling him 'Kid', that when he was asked his name, it had slipped out and it had stuck.

It was a few years later that he'd got into trouble and, in desperation, had gone looking for Heyes, who was making a name for himself as part of the Devil's Hole Gang. Heyes promised to help him and they were back together again, but this time as partners.

When Big Jim left, Heyes fought long and hard to become the next leader and from then on their names became known far and wide.

Curry got up and made another pot of coffee, while he and Lom talked about the ranch. Curry complained that he was finding it harder than he thought to be the boss.

"Honestly Lom, I don't know how I'm supposed to keep track of everything as well as keep the place runnin'. I don't know how Mary did it. All this paperwork, it's makin' me crazy!"

Lom stared at him in astonishment. "Don't tell me that you've forgotten you've got a first class bookkeeper and manager in the other room?"

Curry gaped at him. "Do you think he'd want to? I mean, that's what he did in prison. I don't want to make him feel like he's back there…"

"He always used to love stuff like that. I think he'd feel better if he could do something to help out around the place."

"That's for damn certain. Just wish I'd thought of it before he got it into his head to chop the damn firewood!"

* * *

Heyes woke up again just as the sun was rising.

Hearing him coughing, Curry went in with some tea for him. "Mornin'. How are you feelin'?"

Curry watched him as he leaned against the pillow and thought that he couldn't blame Lom for worrying about Heyes. He really did look awful. His face was pale and gaunt, the only color in his face the healing bruise on his jaw and the dark shadows under his eyes. He was leaning back against the pillow trying to catch his breath after his coughing fit.

"I'm fine."

Curry decided not to comment on that. "You ready to get up and get some breakfast?"

Heyes was exhausted, but he was starting to hate that bed. "Yes, thanks." He felt the soft beard that was growing on his chin. "Could I shave?"

Curry looked at him doubtfully. "Think it's a good idea to have a razor at your throat while you're coughin' like that?"

Heyes looked downcast and the Kid took pity on him.

"I'll help. You just call out if you feel a coughin' fit comin' on."

It took them awhile, but Heyes felt more like himself again afterwards. Lom looked up from the stove and smiled as they came into the kitchen.

"Morning, Heyes! Good to see you looking more like yourself. Hope you're hungry!"

Heyes was surprised to find that he did feel a little hungry and he started to eat with a little more enthusiasm. He tried not to notice the Kid's delighted grin as he ate most of what was on his plate.

"Well, Lom, looks like you'll be cookin' from now on. That's the most he's eaten since he arrived."

"I'm not surprised. I've tasted your cooking and I can't say I blame him."

Heyes smiled to hear them talk, and the smile turned into a yawn.

Lom turned to him. "Heyes, you don't look like you're up for too much excitement this morning. I was wondering if you'd mind keeping me company while the Kid goes and grabs some sleep? He looks pretty beat and we don't need both of you to get sick."

Alarmed, Heyes' eyes flew to his cousin. He immediately felt guilty when he saw how tired Curry looked. He cursed himself for being so selfish that he hadn't even thought about how much time his cousin was spending with him. When he thought of how much he coughed during the night…

"Sure."

Curry couldn't decide whether to be annoyed with Lom or grateful. He was exhausted and he would love to sleep, but he didn't want Heyes to feel like he was even more of a burden. He could read the worry and guilt on his face.

"Heyes, it's not your fault, okay? You can't help being sick and I wanted to stay with you. But since you're lookin' so much better this mornin', I guess it would be nice to grab an extra couple of hours, if you're sure it's okay?"

He didn't add that he thought it would be good for Heyes to spend a little time with someone else for a while. Heyes had known Lom for years and hopefully, by the time he woke up, the two of them would be talking normally to each other. Curry was glad that Heyes was talking to him, but he needed to be able to talk to other people as well.

Heyes swallowed nervously, but nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure." He smiled to show the Kid that he meant it.

"Okay. Thanks, Heyes."

"Kid, why don't you go and lie down in the bunkhouse? That way we don't have to try and be quiet around you."

In truth, Lom was worried that if the Kid stayed in the house, Heyes' constant coughing would continue to disturb him, and Lom knew that Curry needed to sleep.

Curry thought for a moment as he considered it. "Good idea, Lom. Thanks. See you later, Heyes." He looked back, worried. "Sure you'll be okay?"

Heyes knew that it wasn't the moment for one of his silent nods. "I'll be fine."

The kitchen was very quiet when Curry left. Lom started to clear away the dishes and Heyes stood up to help him, working quietly by his side.

When they were finished, Lom said, "It's a little cold to sit outside this morning. Shall we go and sit in the other room?"

Heyes nodded and they walked to the parlor. Heyes stood awkwardly in the doorway, still feeling very much like he didn't belong. He still hadn't spent any time in there and felt very much like an interloper.

Lom settled himself in one of the comfortable wingback chairs by the fireplace. He looked up and was surprised to see Heyes still standing in the doorway.

"Heyes, aren't you coming to sit down?"

Heyes moved slowly into the room, but made no move to sit. Lom watched, confused, and tried to guess what the problem might be.

"Is this where you usually sit?"

Heyes shook his head. Lom tried to think.

"Where do you usually sit?"

"The bedroom."

Lom thought he was starting to see the problem.

"Heyes, this is your home now; you can sit wherever you like. Now come and sit down in the other chair."

Heyes moved forward nervously and perched lightly on the edge of the seat.

Lom sighed in barely concealed frustration, but decided not to say anything else about it.

"How are you feeling this morning?"

"Good."

"Looks like it's going to get colder again. Shame, I like the good weather."

Heyes didn't respond.

Lom tried again. "Still, not long now before the good weather's here to stay."

He watched Heyes, letting the silence build. After what seemed like an eternity, Heyes answered, "Yes."

"So, do you have anything you're hoping to do now that you're back?"

Heyes looked at him hopelessly. How could he have plans, he wondered? He could barely speak to a man he'd known for years and he didn't want to leave the house. What on earth could he ever hope to do?

Lom sighed, defeated. "Is there a book you'd like to read?"

Finally, Heyes looked happy at the thought. The Kid had told him he could read any of the books. "Yes. Thanks."

Lom's spirits lifted a little at finally having hit upon something to make Heyes happy. The two of them went to examine the books and they each selected one. They returned to the parlor and began to read.

They sat like that for some time, with Lom watching Heyes surreptitiously. As Heyes began to read, he settled further back into the chair until he was pushed back into it, his head leaning against one wing. His eyes kept drifting to the door, obviously hoping that the Kid would return soon. When Lom looked next, Heyes was fast asleep.

Standing quietly, he walked into the kitchen and prepared some lunch for them both.

* * *

Heyes was murmuring and twitching in his sleep when Lom returned. It didn't look like a happy dream and Lom was happy to wake him from it.

"Heyes."

Heyes shot awake quickly, shrinking back as he saw Lom and an unfamiliar room.

"Heyes, it's me, Lom. You fell asleep. We're in the parlor, reading, remember?"

Heyes started to relax a little as he remembered and then began to cough. Lom handed him a glass of water.

"It's time for lunch, Heyes. The Kid will be mad at me if I don't feed you!" He smiled at the last part, to show that he was joking.

Heyes tried to smile in return, but still looked unsure. Quietly, he asked, "Kid?"

"Not back yet. You'll just have to enjoy my company for a while longer!"

He picked over his lunch, yawning constantly, but still watching the door.

At last, Lom removed his plate. "Would you like to go and lie down?"

Heyes nodded and reached for his cane.

"Do you need any help?"

Heyes blushed and shook his head. He moved stiffly and slowly, and Lom fought the urge to go and help him. When he went into his room, Lom breathed a guilty sigh of relief. He hadn't realized how unsettled Heyes had been making him.

More relaxed now, he poured himself a cup of coffee and returned to his book.

The Kid came back about half an hour later.

"Well, you look better! Guess I don't need to ask if you slept."

"Yeah, it felt good, I was really tired. How's Heyes?" He looked around. "Where is he?"

"He went to lie down about thirty minutes ago."

Curry poured himself some coffee and sat across from Lom. "Did he talk to you?"

"One word answers and nods."

"Damn. I was hoping…"

"I know, me too."

"Was he okay with you? He's still nervous around Bill and the doctor, but he's known you forever."

"I think he felt okay around me, just not ready to talk. And the whole time he was waiting for you, watching the door." Lom paused. "Makes a person feel a mite jumpy."

"I know. Feels strange, just sittin' there with him totally silent. Not used to a world where Heyes isn't talkin' nineteen to the dozen about some crackpot idea or scheme. You get used to it, just takes a little while."

"Do you think he's going to get better?"

"I honestly don't know. I hope so. He's hardly left the house since he got here, that can't be a good thing."

There was a small noise from the doorway and they both looked up in surprise. Heyes was standing there, a tense look on his face.

"Heyes! Everything alright? Lom said you went to try and get some sleep…"

"Couldn't sleep."

Curry noticed that he had sweat on his forehead and put out his hand to check for a fever. Heyes was a little warm, but not anything that should explain his perspiration. He guessed that Heyes had suffered a nightmare.

In a lower voice, he asked, "You okay?"

Heyes nodded. "Just wanted to see… make sure you… you were…"

Curry gave him a quick hug. "I'm fine, stop worryin' about me! You still look beat. You want to go lie down again?"

Heyes shook his head. He wasn't going to be able to get that dream out of his head; he needed to be near his cousin until he could believe he was okay. The Kid seemed to understand and he put his arm around Heyes.

"Come on in, we were just talkin'."

Curry led Heyes over to the sofa and sat him down, taking the seat beside him. He'd had more than his fair share of bad dreams since Heyes had gone to prison and he understood the need for closeness.

"I was talkin' to Lom earlier about some of the problems I've been havin' runnin' this place. He suggested that you might be able to help me with the books?"

He'd been worried that it might remind Heyes of being back in the prison, but to his surprise, Heyes' eyes lit up at the thought of it.

"I'd like that."

"Really?" Curry couldn't help the note of disbelief in his voice and Heyes almost laughed.

"Yes."

"Great! I'll get everything together for you to look at. Might take me a few days."

This time, Heyes couldn't hide his grin. In a voice so soft he could barely be heard, he joked, "I think I might see one of your problems."

Curry was happy to hear Heyes tease him again and laughed. Lom, sitting by the fireplace, hadn't heard Heyes' part of the exchange, but he could see that the Kid was happy.

The conversation continued, although Heyes was mostly silent for the rest of it. After about half an hour, his eyes started to droop. Curry noticed and subtly moved closer, so that Heyes could lean against him. Within minutes, Heyes was fast asleep, his head on the Kid's shoulder. Curry signaled to Lom, who gently lifted Heyes' head as Curry moved away. They lifted his feet onto the sofa and covered him with a blanket.

* * *

He managed to sleep for a few hours before he was woken up by his coughing, and even managed to eat a little more at dinner.

They sat in front of the fire after dinner, trying to coax Heyes into reminiscences of the old outlaw days. He smiled at a the stories, but didn't seem inclined to add anything to them or contribute any of his own.

Lom put down his glass of whiskey and cleared his throat. "Actually, while we're talking about the old days, I had something I wanted to talk to you about."

Heyes looked nervously at the Kid, but Curry just smiled and waited.

"Do you remember that kid from the paper, Johnny Higgins?"

"Yeah." He turned to Heyes to explain. "He's the one you need to thank for getting you out of that place. After you rescued those kids, he printed a story about it tellin' everyone what a hero you were. After that, he damn near printed a story about you every week tellin' everyone about all the good things you'd been doin' before you were caught. Governor Jackson told us that he was getting stacks of letters every week from people clammerin' to see you released."

"I didn't know." He had wondered why he was suddenly released, but by now he was so used to other people making decisions for him that he hadn't even thought to ask.

"Yeah, we've still got a lot to talk about. I was waitin' until you were better. Anyway," Curry turned back to Lom, "what about him?"

"Well, it seems that those stories made his name as a newspaper man, but now he'd like to go a little further. He wants to write a book."

"Guess that makes sense. Why'd he tell you?"

Lom took a drink. He had no idea how they were going to react to this.

"He wants to write about Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry."

They both looked surprised, but Heyes looked worried as well.

Curry saw his reaction and smiled reassuringly. "Well, why wouldn't he? We were the best! Guess he needs our permission, huh?"

"Well, no, not really. You've seen how good he is at getting people to talk to him and he already knows a fair amount from what he's already written. No, he wants to hear the stories from the two of you, firsthand accounts straight from the horse's mouth."

Heyes paled and shook his head.

Curry considered for a moment. "We owe him, Heyes. If it wasn't for him, you might still be in that place."

He could see that Heyes still wasn't convinced. "Let's just think about it, okay, Heyes?"


	25. Chapter 25

Later, when they were getting ready for bed, Curry asked him, "Have you thought any more about Johnny Higgins? I think we should do something. If it wasn't for him, you wouldn't be here now."

He put his arm around his cousin. "In fact, from what I've seen since you got out, I think that if it wasn't for him, you wouldn't be anywhere right now 'cept a hole in the ground. And I owe him for that."

Heyes realized the Kid was right - they were indebted to Johnny Higgins. Heyes never thought he'd have a future again and apparently it was all due to this man he'd never met.

"How? I can't… I mean, how can I…" He trailed off, annoyed that he was so worried at the thought of talking to the reporter.

"It'll just be us and him, nothing to worry about. I'll be with you the whole time."

"But…"

Curry could see that Heyes was getting upset. "Hey, we'll figure something out, okay? Maybe he won't mind if it's just me."

Heyes nodded, but he was unconvinced. They settled down to sleep.

* * *

Heyes kept thinking about what the Kid had said. The Kid had a lot of great qualities, but they both knew storytelling was not one of them. He tended to forget details and hated describing things and setting up a scene in the listeners head.

The Kid was right. If Johnny Higgins had been responsible for Heyes' freedom, then Heyes owed it to Higgins to make it the best book that it could be. Heyes lay propped against the pillows, tired but unable to stop his mind whirling as he tried to decide what to do.

Eventually, he pulled back the sheets and got up. The cold night air hit him as he left the warmth of the bed and quickly dressed. Trying to be as quiet as possible, he left the bedroom and went into the small study that the Kid had shown him. He still felt uncomfortable looking around in a house that wasn't his, but the Kid had shown him a drawer that held paper and pens and told him he could use anything he wanted.

Taking a pen and a stack of papers, he went back to the kitchen where he was more comfortable and sat down to write.

* * *

Kid Curry felt a knot of fear in his stomach when he woke up in the morning and found that Heyes was missing. Curry quickly dressed and ran out of the bedroom, finding Heyes in the kitchen, fast asleep over a pile of papers.

"Heyes!"

Heyes jolted awake, startled, and took a moment to focus. He managed to say, "Hey, Kid", before coughing overtook him and he struggled to find his breath again. He felt a cup of water at his lips and drank. "Thanks."

"What are you doing out here? It's freezin'!" Kid reached out and grabbed one of Heyes' hands. "YOU'RE freezin'!" he said, his tone accusatory.

"I couldn't sleep and I had an idea." Even as he spoke, he realized that he had to concede that it might not have been his best idea. His voice was gravelly and his throat was sore.

"Apparently, it wasn't to light the stove or go and sit by the fire!"

Heyes was shamefaced. "I'm sorry, I didn't think."

"Clearly!" Curry sank into the chair next to him. "What was the idea?" He asked, resigned.

In answer, Heyes held out a sheaf of papers. Curry looked down and saw that they were all covered by Heyes' messy, almost indecipherable handwriting. After a few moments of squinting at them, he realized that they were all stories of their adventures.

"Great! Now we just need someone who can read your writin'!"

Heyes tried to smile. "It's not that bad."

Kid raised an eyebrow and looked down at the page he was holding. "Really?" He pointed to the piece of paper. "What's that word there?"

Heyes took the paper from him and frowned. "Feud." He paused for a moment and looked at it a little longer. "Friend? No, wait, it's fiend. Definitely fie…"

The rest of the sentence was broken off by another coughing fit.

"Dammit, Heyes!"

Curry refilled the water glass and handed it back to him. After a few minutes, Heyes was able to recover his breath.

Heyes tried to pull away as Curry placed a hand on his friend's forehead and made a face. "You're a little warm. That's it, come on, you're goin' back to bed."

"I'm fine," Heyes protested, but his voice was hoarse and he winced at the soreness in his throat.

Kid pulled him to his feet and started to lead him back to the bedroom, where he pulled off his partner's boots and sat him on the bed.

"I'm goin' to make you some tea. When I come back, I expect to see you in bed."

He returned a few minutes later. "I'm waitin' for the kettle to boil. How are you feelin'?"

"Fine."

"Heyes, I swear to God, if you don't tell me the truth right now, I won't be responsible for my actions!"

Heyes stared defiantly for a moment and then lowered his gaze, resigned. "My throat hurts and I have a headache. And I feel kind of cold and achy."

"How long were you out here?"

"I couldn't sleep…"

"How long, Heyes?"

"I got up about an hour after you fell asleep."

"Why?"

Heyes started picking nervously at the blanket. "I kept thinking about talking to that man and thought that if I wrote the stories down, then he wouldn't need to talk to me. I agree with you that we owe him, but I thought this would be just as good…"

His voice was becoming more and more rasping as he spoke and it disappeared altogether with the last words.

Curry sighed and ran his fingers through his curly hair. "Heyes…" he began and stopped. He looked again at his cousin. Heyes looked miserable.

"Aw, Heyes!" Curry leaned forward and hugged him. "Water should be boilin' now. I'll be back in a minute with that tea, okay?"

Heyes gave him a tentative smile and nodded.

Lom came into the kitchen while Kid was making the tea.

"Thought you'd be eating breakfast by now. What's all this?" He gestured to the papers on the table.

"Heyes couldn't sleep last night and decided to get up and write our life stories so he wouldn't have to talk to that reporter."

Lom's eyes widened and he picked up a handful of papers. "You're joking."

"I wish. Didn't even light the stove. Sat here in the freezin' cold when he shoulda been sleepin', all so he could avoid talkin' to that kid."

"Is he alright?"

"He's got a bit of a temperature, headache, sore throat and he's lost his voice. Oh, and he's cold and achy. I'm makin' him some tea, haven't even had time for breakfast yet."

"I'll take care of that. You just go and take care of him."

"Thanks, Lom."

* * *

For the next couple of days, they kept him wrapped up in bed and gave him as much food as he could eat. It seemed to work. He soon felt better again. Doc came around and confirmed that Heyes was once again improving, but should continue to rest as much as possible.

As the doctor finished his examination, Heyes leaned tiredly back against the pillows.

Doc stood up and picked up his bag. "You did the right thing, Jed. Lots of bed rest, plenty to eat and drink and keep him warm. He can get up again when he feels up to it, but don't let him overdo it."

Curry snorted. "Fat chance I have of preventin' it! I'm startin' to think I need to tie him to the bed whenever I can't watch him. I keep thinkin' he has more sense than to try to chop wood in the rain or sit in a freezin' kitchen all night, but apparently, I'm wrong. And to think, for years we all thought he was the smart one!"

Heyes opened his eyes a crack and frowned at him, but Curry was too irritated to care.

"Yeah, you heard me. Don't know how you think you're ever gonna get better if you keep actin' like a damned fool!"

Heyes pursed his lips angrily and glared at him.

Curry caught the look and was in no mood to ignore it. "Oh, you want to argue? Go on, tell me I'm wrong!"

Heyes, whose throat was still sore and painful when he spoke, shot daggers at the Kid with his eyes but said nothing.

"Brains of the Devil's Hole Gang and he doesn't even have the sense to light the damn fire! Even Kyle woulda figured out to light the damn stove! Yeah, you can't argue with me, can you? You can't argue because you can't talk after sittin' in a ice-cold kitchen all night like an idiot!"

Doc tried to intervene. "Jed, he can't help not talking…"

"I'm not talkin' about that! I'm talkin' about the fact that can't talk right now because his throat hurts so bad. I'm doin' everythin' I can to help him get better and he keeps on doing one dumb thing after another! I'm runnin' around day and night looking after him, worried sick, and he isn't even tryin' to get better! Sittin' in an ice cold kitchen writin' his life story for that damn kid! 'S like he's just tryin' to catch pneumonia again!"

Jed was finally at the end of his tether trying to look after his cousin.

Doc tried again. "Jed, he's been through a difficult time, it's understandable that he'd have a hard time adjusting. I'm sure that in time he'll feel more comfortable talking to people again."

"I don't care about that!" Curry exploded. "I don't care if he never wants to leave the house or talk to anyone again! I just want him to use the common sense that God gave him to not do stupid things that are gonna keep makin' him sick!"

He prodded Heyes in the shoulder as he spoke, but instead of looking angry, Heyes now looked thoughtful. As he poked Heyes in the shoulder one more time, Heyes grabbed his hand and with the remnants of his voice, he rasped, "Don't get proddy, Kid!"

Curry glared at him for a moment and then saw Heyes' grin. He laughed. "Yeah, well, don't keep giving me reasons to!"

Doc stared, surprised by the sudden reversal of their moods.

He cleared his throat and turned to Heyes. "Jed is right, though. I'm sorry, Heyes, you do need to take more care from now on. It's likely that you're never going to be completely healthy again. What might be a minor thing to anyone else could be a serious illness for you, and you need to be aware of that."

Heyes nodded miserably and croaked out, "I know."

Jed sat down beside him. "So, you gonna be better from now on?"

Heyes nodded again. "Yeah."

He started to cough and Curry handed him a drink. Heyes sipped it and leaned back against the pillows.

Doc moved back towards the door. "I should go and let you get some sleep."

Curry saw him out and returned to the bedroom.

Heyes opened his eyes when his partner returned. In his broken voice, Heyes asked him, "You really... don't care... if I can't be... like I was?"

"No, I don't care. Did you think I would?" He could see from his friends face that he had. "Heyes, we're partners and we're family. I'm just happy that we're together again. If that means you being silent and stuck in this house forever, then we'll deal with it. I like to hear you talk, but I'll take whatever I can get. Okay?"

Heyes smiled one of his increasingly rare smiles. "Okay."


	26. Chapter 26

Lom returned home, and Heyes started to improve, slowly.

He kept to his word and began to take more care, and even made a concerted effort to eat more - and it was an effort. His appetite had always been small and the previous three years hadn't done anything to improve it.

As he gained more strength, Curry tried to find ways that Heyes could exercise without becoming too agitated. He convinced Heyes to walk around the ranch and made sure that the hands stayed back if they saw them. Gradually, Heyes began to feel safe on the property. There were even times when he felt comfortable enough to speak to Bill or Mickey, although he still had trouble talking to the other ranch hands.

Curry mailed Heyes' notes to Johnny Higgins, who had been delighted by the wealth of information contained in them, although as Curry had predicted, he was finding the handwriting hard to decipher.

They ended up in a correspondence which Curry had cheerfully passed over to Heyes. Speaking for his partner was one thing, but Heyes could write his own letters.

Heyes and Johnny wrote to each other for some time before Heyes eventually agreed that they could meet. Curry was delighted, although he tried not to show how much. He knew Heyes would hate it if he made a fuss.

The night before the appointed day, Heyes didn't sleep a wink. He'd moved into the guest bedroom, insisting that he would prefer the smaller room. He was telling the truth; though he didn't like to admit it, it felt more like his cell and he felt safer there because of it.

After a few hours of trying to pretend that he was going to fall asleep, he got up and made some coffee. Mindful of the Kid's words after the last time, he lit the stove and sat drinking coffee until the sun came up.

* * *

Curry walked into the kitchen, combing his hands through his hair and yawning. He stopped in surprise when he saw a bleary eyed Heyes sitting next to the stove.

"Hey, when did you get up?"

Heyes avoided a direct answer. "Couldn't sleep."

"Heyes!"

"I don't know! Sometime after midnight, I guess."

"Did you get any sleep at all?"

Curry pressed a hand to his partners forehead and Heyes pulled away, irritated.

"I'm fine."

"An' I'm making sure you are!" He examined his partner's face. "This because of your meetin' with Johnny?"

Heyes looked away and said nothing.

"It's not too late to cancel, Heyes. You just say the word and I'll speak to him instead."

"I can do this!"

"I know you can. But you don't have to if you don't want to. Don't have to prove anything to anyone, Heyes. If you don't want to do it, then you don't have to, okay?"

Heyes sighed. "Thanks. I can do it. It's just… I guess I'm a little nervous."

"I'll be with you the whole time. And anytime you need it to stop, you just say the word."

"Thanks, Kid. I'm sorry."

"'S okay. Want breakfast?"

Heyes felt green at the thought. "No."

"Have you eaten anything this morning?"

Heyes shook his head.

"Then let me put it another way - you're going to eat something this morning, do you have a preference about what you'd like?"

Heyes sighed. "Maybe some toast?"

Curry looked as if he was going to argue for a minute and then decided to leave it. He could see that Heyes was already feeling bad enough. "Toast it is."

They had just finished when they heard the sound of a horse approaching. Heyes paled and then turned a worrying shade of green.

"You alright?" Curry handed him a glass of water.

Heyes took it with a shaking hand and sipped it until his stomach started to settle.

"You don't have to do this if you're not ready."

Heyes nodded. "It's okay."

Curry studied his face for a moment and went to greet their guest.

A few minutes later Curry walked into the kitchen with Johnny Higgins. Higgins looked very young to Heyes, and he felt like a fool for being so nervous about a boy. He rose and tentatively held out a shaky hand.

Curry had warned Higgins about Heyes' problems, so Johnny took the offered hand firmly in his and tried not to notice how much it shook.

"Thanks for seeing me, Mr. Heyes, and you too, Mr. Curry."

"Not a problem, Johnny. You can call me Jed, and everyone just calls him Heyes." He grinned at his partner, "or Whatisname."

Heyes smiled at the old joke.

Johnny flashed a quick glance and saw that it was a private joke between them. He grinned. "Okay, thanks. I think I'll probably stick with Heyes."

Eagerly, he pulled out a huge sheaf of papers and started riffling through them. "Okay, these are the pages I'm having a problem with."

He pushed over a stack and Heyes recognized some of the later ones that he had written. It looked as though his handwriting had deteriorated the longer he'd been writing and they were pretty hard to read. He looked up to see they were both staring at him expectantly.

Heyes pushed one of them over to Curry, who stared at it blankly for a few minutes.

"Sorry, Heyes. I'm not even sure it's English." He pointed to a point on the page, "Is that even a letter?"

Heyes pursed his lips together before realizing that, no, he wasn't sure what that was either. Maybe if it was in context… he went back to read the rest of it.

Johnny had reached the same conclusion. "I was thinking that maybe you could read it out to me and I could just copy it down that way."

Curry raised an eyebrow. "You couldn't write that fast."

Johnny grinned. "I can, just watch me!"

They both turned to look at Heyes, who swallowed. Reading the story aloud was far more speaking than he was prepared for, but it was easier than trying to have a conversation. Heyes saw the hopeful look in the Kid's eyes. Despite what he said, he'd love it if Heyes could do this.

Heyes sighed and picked up the first page. He took a sip of his water and kept his eyes on the page as he read out, "Kid Curry had been offered a job delivering a letter to an address in Mexico, an address that didn't seem to exist…"

As so often happened when he was reading, the outside world ceased to exist for Heyes. Soon, he was lost in telling the story, and Curry gaped in wonder at the difference. Except for an occasional cough, this was his friend - the loquacious Hannibal Heyes, as he used to be. There was no sign of the hesitant ex-convict in this confident man in front of them. He could have sat like that forever, listening to his friend regaling them with tales of their past. Curry felt a pang when he thought about how much he had missed this; how much he had longed to hear Heyes talk again, like he used to.

All too soon the story was finished and the spell was broken. Heyes put down the last sheet of paper and dropped his eyes to the table. There were a few moments of silence. Curry could have cried with frustration as he saw his friend return to his shell once again.

Johnny's voice broke into Curry's thoughts. "Thanks, that was great! Wow, you tell a good story!"

Heyes smiled nervously. "Thanks."

Curry stood up to get some coffee. "Yeah, that was great. Well, Johnny, did you get it all?"

He leaned forward and stared at the indecipherable squiggles that covered the small notebook Johnny was writing in. "And you said you couldn't read HIS writin'! What the heck is that?"

Heyes peered across the table and tried to make out what the boy had written.

Johnny grinned. "It's shorthand. It's a way of using symbols instead of words and phrases so you can write faster." He turned his notebook so they could see it better.

Curry handed him a coffee cup as he peered at the page. "You can read that?"

"Yeah!" Johnny read out a few sentences for them.

Heyes took the notebook and studied it, then handed it back.

Johnny turned to a blank page and picked up his pen again. "So, I just have a few more questions…"

If, after Heyes' impressive display of storytelling, the other two had hoped he would speak more freely, they were to be disappointed. He needed a lot of prompting when it came to answering the questions and his answers were stilted and short.

After about an hour, Heyes was beginning to feel exhausted and he started to rub at his temples as a headache began to form.

Curry stood up. "Well Johnny, I think that's enough for today."

Johnny shot a look at Heyes and nodded. "Sure, Mr. Curry. Jed," he corrected quickly. "Can I come back tomorrow? I still have some more questions."

Curry looked at Heyes, who nodded.

"Sure. You stayin' at the saloon?"

"Yeah. Oh, and Queenie asked me to send her love to you, Mr… er, I mean, Heyes."

Heyes smiled weakly and Curry led the boy from the room.

He returned alone a few minutes later. "Headache?"

"Yeah."

"Come on, you can lie down for a few minutes."

"Kid, I'm fine."

Curry stood over him, mock challengingly. "We gonna fight about this?"

Heyes smiled as he shook his head. He pushed his chair back and swayed a little as he stood. Curry grabbed his arm and helped him to his room. Heyes removed his jacket while the Kid pulled off his partner's boots. Heyes closed his eyes as he lay back.

"You feelin' okay?"

"Yeah. It was just a lot, y'know?" His head was throbbing.

Curry watched him thoughtfully. "For a minute there… while you was readin'... you sounded just like your old self. It was nice, I've missed it."

Heyes opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. "Felt like my old self for a while. Yeah, it did feel good."

"Maybe it's not buried so deep after all. Maybe one of these days you'll be back to your old self."

Heyes bit his lip on his reply. As far as he recalled, his old self didn't have to lie down after talking to to a boy for an hour.

"Yeah, maybe," he said doubtfully.

Curry squeezed his shoulder. "And if you don't, that's fine too. We're doin' just fine the way things are. Get some rest, I'll call you for lunch."

* * *

Heyes did start to feel more comfortable around Johnny Higgins.

Curry was learning that if he introduced people slowly, Heyes would start to get used to them. He was getting to the stage where he could greet the ranchhands - if there weren't too many of them - and could even speak to a couple of them. But he was still very withdrawn and quiet, and showed no inclination to leave the safety of the ranch. He was happy to spend most of the day inside, working on the ranch accounts and correcting proofs of the book they were writing with Johnny.

Five months after Heyes' release, Jed decided to take a risk and try something new.

One morning, while Heyes was taking a walk, Curry packed up their saddlebags and saddled two horses. When Heyes returned he saw the two horses and cast a quizzical glance at his cousin.

"What's going on?"

Kid smiled. "Climb on, we're goin' for a ride."

Heyes smiled. "Alright."

He still loved riding and, once he felt better, he and the Kid had ridden around the ranch a few times. Sometimes it was painful, but it was worth it.

Curry took the cane from Heyes and hooked it onto the saddle. As Heyes got into position, Curry helped him to mount; due to the injury to his leg, it was impossible to jump on like he used to. Curry quickly mounted and led the way.

Heyes wasn't paying attention at first, enjoying the ride. The sun was shining and he couldn't imagine a more beautiful day.

They headed out to the farthest fence and Heyes noticed the large gate was open. Curry clicked his heels and moved his horse forward, then turned and waited for Heyes.

Heyes blanched and looked nervously around him. "I don't know… I'm not sure…"

"You can do it, Heyes. I'm gonna be right next to you the whole time, okay?"

Heyes still looked uncertain, but he would trust the Kid. Curry kept the pace slow and stayed glued to Heyes' side, carefully watching his cousin to make sure that he wasn't too nervous or in any discomfort. He kept up a steady stream of conversation and before long, Heyes started to relax.

After a while, Heyes realized how long they'd been riding for. The light was starting to change and the air was getting cooler.

He felt a sudden stab of panic and turned to his partner. "Kid, we've been out too long, we need to get back."

Curry pulled his horse closer and smiled encouragement. "It's okay, I've packed our things. We're goin' to spend the night out here."

Heyes pulled his horse up short and went white. "Kid!"

"It's alright. Trust me?"

Heyes looked at him in anguish. Of course he trusted him, but still… "I… I…"

"It's okay, Heyes. You'll be safe. I won't let anything happen."

Heyes nodded, but didn't look convinced. He knew the Kid wouldn't force him to do it if he really wanted to go back, just as he wouldn't have forced him to ride on if he really hadn't wanted to. Heyes looked after the Kid and the Kid looked after Heyes. It was what they did.

Heyes realized that a big part of him didn't want to ask to go back. He wanted to see if he could do this.

After a few more minutes of riding, Kid pulled up his horse. "This is the spot. Isn't it pretty?"

Heyes looked around nervously. It was a beautiful spot. The mountains were behind them and a small creek ran nearby. The ground was dotted with Indian paintbrushes and columbines, and he could hear the whirr of hummingbirds as they flew overhead. He spotted a bluebird flying past, the color seeming unnaturally bright.

Curry dismounted and was waiting to help Heyes off his horse.

Despite the tranquility of the area, Heyes was shaking as his partner helped him down and handed him his cane.

Curry led him over to a large boulder. "Sit here while I set up camp. You doin' okay?"

Heyes looked stricken but he nodded. Curry accepted the nod and proceeded to roll out their bedrolls and start a fire.

He picked up a small pot and handed it to Heyes. "Could you go and get us some water?"

Heyes took the pot with a shaking hand and walked unsteadily towards the stream. Curry bit his lip for a moment, suddenly realizing that it might be more than nerves; Heyes might be feeling the effects of riding for so long. As the fire caught, he walked over as his cousin eased himself down to the water.

"Sorry, I forgot you might feel a little sore. Here, let me do that."

"No, I've got it."

Heyes was sore, but he had to admit, it was a beautiful spot. The water was cool after the heat of the day and it felt good as it ran against his hand. He handed the pot to the Kid, and then leaned over and splashed some of the water on his face. The Kid did the same.

"I thought it would be nice to spend some time outdoors, just the two of us, like it used to be. I've missed it."

Heyes nodded in agreement, but Curry could see that he was still worried.

"It's okay, it's a quiet spot. I've never seen anyone else here." Seeing Heyes' look, he explained, "I used to come here sometimes, just to get away. It's a good place to come to think about things."

"When you were with Mary?"

"Yeah." His voice was low.

"Were things that bad?"

Curry nodded. "Yeah, they were. Lom got mad at me once for sayin' that bein' married to Mary was like bein' in prison, but it was. I thought it was goin' to be like that forever. Sometimes I just had to escape for a while."

He suddenly realized what he was saying. "I'm sorry, Heyes. Lom's right, it was nothin' compared to what you were going through."

To his surprise, Heyes shook his head. "Once I'd got used to it, it wasn't that terrible. At first it was hard; all the beatings and the other stuff… that was bad. There were times when it seemed like everybody was just trying to kill me. But once I adjusted… well…" He looked reflective for a moment. "As crazy as it sounds, once I could avoid the others, I was alright. I liked the work and I was used to everything by then. In a strange way, I think I was almost happy. When I first got out, I was so scared by everything, I actually missed it."

Curry looked at him in shock.

"I'd learned how to keep myself safe there and I'd got used to being by myself. When I got out, everything was different again. Almost the first thing that happened was a complete stranger threatened us with a gun. Could you blame me for not thinking it was an improvement?"

"I guess not. Do you still feel like that?"

Heyes looked up at the clear sky and the birds whirling overhead. "No. I never thought I'd have this again. You're right, it's beautiful." He sighed and looked down at the stream again. "But I still don't feel safe. I'm always waiting for the next thing to happen."

Curry put an arm around his cousin. "Maybe the next thing is a good thing?"

Heyes smiled back at him. "Maybe."

"You don't believe it though?"

"No. Not yet, anyway. Maybe one day."

That night Kid Curry stayed awake and sat beside his friend and partner as he tried to sleep, jumping at every sound. Each time, the Kid would put his hand out to him and tell him it was okay.

There was no maybe for him; he knew the day would come when Hannibal Heyes would be his old self again.

Until then, he would watch over him and keep him safe.

They had all the time in the world.


End file.
